


Mind Games (AU)

by Dextrousleftie



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Alternate Universe - Police, Anal Sex, Death, Espers, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gay Romance, HEA ending, Horror, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Injury, Love, Lust, M/M, Oral Sex, Rimming, Romance, Supernatural Elements, Unrequited Love, character death(sort of)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-06
Updated: 2017-03-19
Packaged: 2018-09-15 07:21:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 31,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9224723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dextrousleftie/pseuds/Dextrousleftie
Summary: A terrible string of murders has the Tokyo Esper Squads on high alert. Who is doing the killings? And also HOW are they doing them, since the perpetrator seems to be able to walk through walls?





	1. Chapter 1

A/N: You all have my fan Kuroneko to thank for this one, as she asked me to put this one up. Any comments would be greatly appreciated. -DL

 

It was a dull evening for the nightshift of the 8th precinct Tokyo Esper Squad. Captain Tezuka Kunimitsu was locked in his office, busy with the endless paperwork that he seemed to actually like doing, even though most of the rest of the squad loathed it. His Lieutenant, Oishi Shuichiro, was sitting out in the squadroom, playing cards with Detective Eiji Kikumaru. Oishi was too nice a guy to use his empathic abilities to cheat, especially when the redhead couldn’t use his own powers to do so. The only thing that Eiji could have done was set the cards on fire, which wouldn’t have helped him to cheat, but would only have ended the game altogether. 

Detective Kaidoh Kaoru was leaning back in his chair at the desk he shared with his partner Detective Inui Sadaharu, with his feet resting on the desktop and his hands crossed over his chest. His sullen black stare was far away, as he moodily tried to cope with the lack of anything constructive to do. Kaidoh had never had much patience, nor did he have many hobbies. So the time seemed to drag for him even more than for the other members of his squad, who at least had found things to do to pass the time between calls. 

His partner Inui was also working on paperwork, at his computer on the other side of the desk. Inui really enjoyed doing paperwork, much to his partner’s disgust. Every once in awhile he lifted his head, and glared through his thick square glasses at the boots resting on the desktop. He hated Kaidoh’s slovenly manners and general grumpiness. Kaidoh, in turn, loathed Inui’s cold personality and his over-controlled and fussy habits. The two of them made an excellent team, but they really didn’t like each other much. According to Detective Fuji Syusuke, this was because there was a lot of unexpressed sexual tension going on between the two. He always infuriated both men when he slyly made this observation, although neither ever said anything to refute it. Fuji was a telepath, after all. Trying to refute what a telepath said, especially one as wicked and perceptive as Fuji, was an exercise in futility. 

Fuji, himself, was leaning on the corner of the desk he shared with his partner Arata Kinoko, the only female member of the nightshift. He was reading a paperback book, and occasionally reading the funnier passages aloud to his partner, who was playing a video game on her computer. She grimaced as her spaceship got blown up by the alien ships on the screen. She hit the button to re-start the game, sighing. She never had been able to get past level 12 on this stupid game. Why she kept playing it she had no idea, except for the fact that she was damn well going to beat it one day, no matter what it took! 

Eiji’s partner, Detective Kawamura Takashi, was sitting at their shared desk sculpting a piece of wood. Kawamura’s fingers were very deft, and he produced beautiful little carvings from hunks of the most ordinary-looking wood. This was an obsessive hobby of his, and the rest of the squad had long since stopped admiring these masterpieces, and had moved on to being annoyed over the fact that they littered all the desktops in the squad room, and tended to fall onto the floor and get stepped on. Kawamura always looked sad and pathetic when one of his little sculptures got broken, which made the person who’d broken it carelessly feel terrible. And no one had the heart to complain or beg him to stop doing it at work, since they knew that it would hurt the gentle man’s feelings. Kawamura was just too sweet. None of them wanted to be mean to him if they could help it.

The last pair of partners, Detective Momoshiro Takeshi and Detective Echizen Ryoma, were arm-wrestling across the top of their desk. While Echizen was smaller, he was also quite strong. So it was a toss-up as to who would win, although neither was really that concerned about the outcome. They just liked to pit themselves against each other regularly in a variety of different ways, for while they were close friends they were also both pretty competitive. Detective Momoshiro, called Momo by the entire squad, was laughing as he gripped Echizen’s hand, as the silent struggled went on. Echizen’s face was almost solemn, but his bronze-gold eyes were twinkling with a faintly-amused light. 

The two of them were enjoying themselves thoroughly. They made sure to keep their hands away from the fluffy silver cat curled up on the desk asleep, for Karupin would not appreciate being bashed while he was napping. The cat was technically Echizen’s, but had become the unofficial mascot and good luck charm of the entire squad. Especially Detective Kaidoh, who secretly adored animals, and often brought in little tidbits for the cat, or smuggled in toys and left them on Echizen’s desk. Everyone else in the squad knew that it was Kaidoh who made those cat toys magically appear, but no one said anything. They all thought that it was quite funny that the fierce, surly detective had a soft spot for animals. 

Kaidoh sighed. He frowned darkly, as he wished that something would happen to break the monotony. He wanted some action. He was just considering getting up and wandering down to the breakroom to snag a soft drink, when Captain Tezuka’s office door flew open and banged against the wall. Kaidoh sat up abruptly, every line of his body eager as he turned to look at the man standing in the office doorway. He knew what this meant. Finally, they were going to get to actually DO something tonight, instead of sitting around on their hands!

Captain Tezuka’s intense hazel eyes slid over his squad, as they all turned to look at him. “Robbery at the First Bank of Tokyo,” the precognitive said shortly. “Twenty minutes. Go.”

There was a scramble, as everyone threw themselves to their feet and rushed for the door. Almost everyone, that is. Fuji got to his feet in a much more leisurely fashion, put a bookmark in his book, set it on his desktop, and strolled out after the rest of the departing squad. He felt Tezuka’s glare on his back as he went, and a small smile slid over his mouth. He had always liked to push the Captain’s buttons, and his night was never complete until he’d managed to annoy or frustrate the uptight man in some way. He smirked as he made his way toward the door at the end of the hall, the one that led to the elevators that would take him to the street-level parking garage. 

His partner Kinoko was waiting for him by the elevator, her arms crossed over her chest. She shook her head at him. “One day you’re going to go too far, Fuji,” she remarked in exasperated amusement.

“Probably,” he agreed as they entered an elevator together. “But as you know, Kinoko, with me too far is never far enough.”

She sighed, but there was a smile on her mouth at the same time. Fuji could be irritating and annoying, but he was also the most interesting, funny, and wicked person that she knew. He was great fun to hang around with, and she had always been glad that she’d been assigned as his partner. Even when he said things like the next statement out of his mouth. His sly blue gaze glimmered under his mostly shut eyelids as he said: “Bad timing. Now Taka won’t be able to finish that sculpture for you.”

She felt herself turning faintly red. Only Fuji knew that she had a secret crush on Detective Kawamura, and that she collected the little wooden sculptures that everyone else hated. Her desk drawer was full of them, and she had more displayed in a bookcase in her apartment. She’d never told anyone about this crush, but Fuji had picked it out of her thoughts unerringly. But while he teased her about when they were alone, he was kind enough to never mention it around any of the other members of the squad. And that was one of the many reasons they were friends as well as partners, for Fuji was surprisingly kind sometimes. Especially considering how cruel and sly his wit could be. 

“Shut up,” she muttered, which made him grin. She mock-glared at him. “If you keep torturing me about Taka, then I’ll bring up the Tezuka thing,” she said menacingly.

Fuji shrugged, although he said no more about her crush. Kinoko had discovered that the telepath was deeply in lust with their Captain, and had used that information to curb the worst of his teasing. The elevator dinged, and the two of them walked through the opening doors and made their way to their squad car. It was a white sedan, emblazoned on the side with the Esper Squad logo of a blue starburst caged in a gold circle. Kinoko got behind the wheel, as Fuji didn’t like to drive when they were on assignment. He had to pull down his shields in preparation for sending his mind out toward the crime and the perps, and that took all of his attention. He closed his eyes as she started the engine, and peeled out of the parking garage in a squeal of tires. 

The white cars sped through the evening traffic, their sirens blaring. Drivers hurriedly got out of the way, for the Squad had been known to make a path for themselves through traffic, if drivers got in their way. And the police department refused to pay for any damages that the Espers did in the line of duty, so if your vehicle ended up in a twisted heap because you didn’t heed the sirens, then you were shit out of luck. People learned quickly, and the civilian traffic just seemed to melt away as the Esper Squad vehicles went tearing by. 

The First Bank of Tokyo was an imposing, twenty-story glass-and-steel structure downtown. The cars parked recklessly at the curb, as the detectives streamed out of the vehicles. The bank looked quiet and dark, and it certainly didn‘t appear that there was a crime going on inside. But Fuji, standing very still on the sidewalk with his eyes still closed, commented: “Sixteen men, on the fourth floor. They got in through a maintenance door on the first floor. One of them is a safe cracker of some skill, and the others are acting as look-outs as he tries to open the safe.”

Lieutenant Oishi nodded. “All right, we’ll separate and come at them from several different directions. Kaidoh,” he said to the black-eyed man, “Take Inui and go up to the fifth floor. Blow a window and get in that way. Momo, Echizen, Fuji, and Kinoko, get in through one of the ground floor front doors and make your way upstairs. Eiji, Kawamura, and I will go in through the maintenance door that the perps used. Be careful,” he added, which is what he said every time. 

There were nods all around. Kaidoh stepped up to Inui, who looked grimly accepting as the black-eyed man threw his arms around his waist tightly. The two men began to float upward, Kaidoh levitating them straight up toward the bank of windows on the fifth floor. It was just about all that he could do to carry both himself and his partner, and even that was a bit of a strain. His mouth was set in a hard line as they approached the windows. Inui turned a bit in his arms, and extended a hand. His forest-green eyes went blank behind the thick square lenses of his glasses, and one of the windows bowed in, before exploding outward as though it had been hit by a missile. Flying shards of glass twirled away from the shield that Inui had erected to protect the two of them, and the two men floated into the now empty space, where a whole window had been only a moment before. 

 

 

Kinoko strode right up to the main doors, and grasped the heavy cage of security bars that had been lowered over it when the bank closed for the night. Almost effortlessly, the slender woman tore the bars apart as though they were made of tissue paper. Then she ripped the doors right off their hinges, tossing them away down the street. She darted into the lobby of the building, followed by her partner, Momo, and Echizen. All of them pulled stun guns from their belts as they went, although the weapons were generally mere formalities. The Espers themselves were living, breathing weapons, and didn’t need technological assistance.

Oishi led Eiji and Kawamura to the maintenance door around the side or the bank. It opened to a touch, and Oishi moved into the building with all of his empathic senses turned outward. He would be able to feel any of the bank robbers before they came within shooting distance of them. They pushed through the door into the stairwell, and surged up the stairs toward the fourth floor. Eiji had a flame burning in the palm of his hand, ready to hurl at anyone they met, and the orange light gleamed in his alert sapphire eyes. Kawamura brought up the rear, as he had no offensive abilities. He was a psychic healer, and the medic of the Squad. He never got into the actual fighting, and was vigorously protected at all times by the other members of the Squad. If anything happened to their healer, they’d be in trouble if anyone was hurt. 

In the lobby, the Squad members tried the elevators. But they had been locked for the night, so they made their way to the stair doors. Kinoko pulled the door off the hinges again, casually tossing it away with a clatter on the marble floor of the lobby. They began the climb to the fourth floor, with Momo’s long legs carrying him up the stairs far more swiftly than his partner’s or Fuji’s shorter ones. Momo was one of the tallest members of the Squad, and certainly much taller than any of the other people following him up the steps. There was a wide grin on his face as he hurled himself upward, and his purple eyes gleamed. Like Kaidoh, he liked action, and would throw himself gleefully into the middle of trouble with a smile on his face.

“Wait up, would you, you great oaf!” huffed Kinoko in disgust as Momo began to draw away from them. He only chuckled at her words, although he had to stop at the top of the fourth floor stairs and wait patiently anyway, since he couldn’t break down the door. “That’ll teach you,” she said in satisfaction as she went by him to deal with the metal fire door.

He only grinned, as his smaller partner came up silently beside him. Fuji spoke more softly as Kinoko pulled the door loose from its hinges. “There are two of them at the end of this hall, guarding this stairwell.”

Momo nodded. “Leave it to us,” he said, waving at Echizen. “You ready, Ryo?” He asked his partner, who nodded. 

Momo set his hands on Echizen’s shoulders. One moment they were there, and the next both men had winked out as Momo teleported them the short way down the hallway. Fuji heard two voices start to exclaim, then both fell silent as Echizen demonstrated his own abilities. The telepath and Kinoko walked down the hallway, to see the two robbers standing very still and statue-like, their eyes blank. Both would remain that way for at least an hour, giving the regular police plenty of time to come in and collect them at their leisure. All Echizen had to do was look into another person’s eyes, and his own bronze-gold orbs could hypnotize that person where they stood. The two men had had no chance against him. 

Fuji strolled past the statue-like men. He sent his mind out, tagging each of the remaining bank robbers. There were four close by, and he sent a thought into both Momo and Echizen’s heads to tell them the exact position of the men. Once more the two Espers winked out, while Kinoko ran down the hall and turned at the corner, guided by Fuji. The two men waiting at the end of the hall saw the small woman running toward them, and underestimated her because of her size and sex. She picked up one of the shocked robbers and hurled him at the other one, both men going down in a heap.

Elsewhere, cries rang out as the robbers, taken by surprise, met up with the other members of the Esper Squad. Three of them went down under a barrage of office equipment hurled at them by Inui, and two more screamed in agony as they were badly burned by shooting columns of flame originating from between Eiji’s hands. Momo and Echizen took care of the four that Fuji had directed them to, which left only three men to be dealt with. And those three were so terrified by this sudden eruption of violence and strange powers, that they dropped their guns and surrendered. They stared in terror as the members of the Tokyo Esper Squad 8th Precinct nightshift converged on them. Flames were still dancing in Eiji’s palms, and Kaidoh was floating a few inches above the floor. Momo and Echizen had appeared seemingly out of nowhere, and there was a large metal desk hovering over Inui’s head just waiting to be thrown. 

Oishi broke out the handcuffs, and dealt with the remaining three bank robbers. Inui set the desk carefully onto the floor. Eiji dowsed the flames burning in his palms. Momo grinned at Echizen, whose bronze-gold eyes were normal once more. Kinoko wiped a bit of sweat from her brow, while Kaidoh alighted onto the floor. He looked surly again, for this little bit of action hadn’t been enough to satisfy him. Fuji stood with his hand on his hip casually, humming a tune in the back of his throat. Kawamura was looking everyone over anxiously, searching for any injuries. While they hadn’t encountered any violence from the robbers, there were often strained muscles after the Squad exerted their powers, especially with Kinoko and Inui. But he was satisfied to see that everyone was just fine, and he relaxed as his healing senses informed him of this. 

“Well, that’s that,” Oishi remarked. “We’ll leave them for the police to collect. Good work everyone. Let’s get back to the office and report to Captain Tezuka.”

The members of the Esper Squad left the bank far more slowly than they’d entered it, and in a far more prosaic manner. Kinoko chatted with Kawamura, who was a sweet man but also pretty much oblivious. He had no idea that the pretty female Esper had a crush on him. Momo had slung an arm over Echizen’s shoulders, and was telling him a dirty joke. He had made it a mission in life to get Echizen to laugh as often as possible, and every time that he got the smaller man to do so was a victory for him. Kaidoh followed Inui down the stairs, practically glaring at the telekinetic's back. At times like this, when the adrenalin was still rushing through his veins, the black-eyed man had a terrible urge to throw Inui across a desk, and fuck his brains out. Not that he’d try, since the other man could hurt him bad if he tried that. But the urge was still there, and it tended to put him in an even worse mood that usual.

Oishi was talking with Eiji, smiling over the redhead’s lively chatter. Fuji was silent, for he was putting his shields back up and he didn’t like to carry on a conversation when he did so. All of them made their way out of the hole where the front doors had once been, and went to their cars. This kind of situation was par for the course on any given night for the elite Tokyo Esper Squad, one of the most talented and dangerous group of psychic law enforcement officers in the world.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eiji needs some advice, and goes to Oishi to get it. But Oishi's advice takes him totally aback...

The Stalker of the Night flowed through the shadows, like a fish cutting through water. He glided through the darkness, at home and in his element, intent on the hunt. All of his senses were turned outward, seeking prey. There! His mind brushed up against what he was looking for, and he turned in a southwesterly direction. 

He cut directly through the buildings in his way, for matter meant nothing to him. He drifted through walls as though they were insubstantial, instead of steel or brick or wood. No one saw him pass, for he was a mere shadow among other shadows. He felt keen anticipation rise up in him, as he approached a high-rise apartment building, a building that contained what he was seeking. A steel fire door was no more obstacle than anything else had been, and he drifted up the stairs to the eighth floor as lightly as a piece of thistledown blowing on the breeze.

Once out in the hallway beyond the eighth-floor fire door, he stood for a moment to orient himself. Ah, this way. He turned left and glided along, finally arriving at the fifth door along on the right-hand side. He stepped through the flimsy wooden door of the apartment, finding himself in a narrow entrance hall. A short way down was an archway leading into the living room, and he could hear sound from a t.v. Stepping as softly and silently as any other predator, he arrived at the archway. He saw the black head of a man sitting in an armchair, intent on the program flickering on the screen. He was eating ramen noodles with chopsticks, and there was a sheaf of papers on his lap. 

The Stalker smiled. How homey and pleasant! It was really too bad that he’d have to disturb this little tableau. Ohh, well…he walked forward, arriving beside the chair without its occupant becoming aware of his presence. He laid his hand on the back of it, and let the Shadows that had concealed him drop away so that his victim would be able to see and hear him. He did so love the delicious look of fear on his victims’ faces when they saw him! “Good evening,” he said coolly to the man in the chair.

The man started, his cup of ramen noodles spilling unheeded into his lap. His head whipped around, and he stared up with mouth and eyes gaping wide at the person who’d invaded his apartment. They widened even more, taking on the quality of a rictus, as he saw the Stalker’s face. He made a choked sound of terror in the back of his throat, his eyes not really taking in the reality of the being standing beside his chair. Low, deep laughter skirled out into the room, as the Stalker almost gently reached down to lay a hand against the man’s face. “Arigatou,” the Stalker said tenderly, smiling a little. 

The man’s brown eyes went blank, and began to glaze over. He choked out a last gasping breath before the air rattled in his lungs, and then fell silent altogether. His face went slack under the Stalker’s hand, as his life force flowed out of his body in a steady stream. When he was as empty as a used water skin, the Stalker lifted his hand away from the already cooling skin. He stretched, feeling fabulous. This one had been strong. He bowed a little, respectfully, to the dead man in the chair. Anyone who fed him so well should be shown the proper respect. Then he turned and left the way he’d come, still silent and unseen. The man in the chair sat unmoving, his face already beginning to rot as though he’d been buried for many days, instead of having just died a few moments ago.

 

 

Detective Eiji Kikumaru stared at his boyfriend across the small table. His sapphire eyes were pleading. “Hikaru,” he said, putting out as slim hand as though to take the other man’s. 

 

But Hikaru drew away, shaking his dyed-blonde head. “No, Eiji-kun,” he said tightly. “This is over. I can’t take it anymore. I’m tired of having a boyfriend who’s a cock tease.”

The redhead flinched visibly, but said nothing to deny or refute this accusation. His eyes had grown sad as he waited for the inevitable. He watched as Hikaru stood up, shoving back his chair. “It’s been nice knowing you,” he said rather coldly to Eiji. “Goodbye,” and he turned to walk away, without giving the man sitting at the table a backward glance. He left the restaurant, while Eiji stared blankly down at the tablecloth. 

He’d known this was coming. But it still hurt. It hurt every time. He sighed, and ran a hand through his shaggy auburn locks. He’d known that Hikaru was getting restless and impatient, but he hadn’t known what to do about it. Why did he keep doing this to himself? He’d meet a guy he liked, start dating him, and then feel terrible when he got dumped. Even though it was his own fault that so many men had dumped him…He should just stop dating. While he’d be terribly lonely, at least he wouldn’t have to survive the inevitable break-up.

He got to his feet, leaving a tip for the waitress before he walked out of the restaurant. He made his way down the sidewalk, not with any real destination in mind but just moving so that he could think better. He’d always been a lively, energetic soul, and it was easier for him to work things out when he was moving. His sapphire eyes were far away, as he contemplated the eternal problem that had plagued him since he was a sixteen-year-old.

Eiji wasn’t(quite) a virgin. He’d lost his virginity when he was sixteen, but since then he had never had sex again. He just couldn’t. No matter how much his boyfriends wanted it, even demanded it, he just couldn’t bring himself to try again. Not after what had happened when he was a teenager. The horrible memories rose up in front of his eyes as he walked along, making his stomach churn. He could never forget the sound of Makoto’s screams of agony. And the vision of the other man, rolling on the floor and clutching at himself to try to ease the pain even a little bit, were branded on the backs of his retinas.

Makoto had been a tall, handsome senior at Eiji’s high school. He was on the track team, and also the student council. He was a great guy, charming and personable. Everybody liked him. Especially a certain redhead, who’d had a crush on the man for several years. But Eiji had never suspected that Makoto would be interested in him in return, until the day that the other man had walked up to him after track practice(Eiji was on the team, too) and asked him out. 

 

While he’d been shocked, Eiji had also been almost deliriously happy. He’d said 'yes' fervently, and Makoto had grinned. They went to see a movie that night, and the relationship progressed quickly after that. It wasn’t long before Eiji was looking forward to having sex with the sexy, drool-worthy Makoto. And finally there’d been the night that his boyfriend had asked him to stay over at his house…

Eiji had known what the invitation entailed, and he’d been worked up into a near frenzy of lust at the very thought. That day at school had been a long one, dragging on. When he’d finally gone to Makoto’s house and rang the doorbell, his stomach was doing flip-flops inside of him. And these intensified when he'd seen the look in Makoto’s eyes, when his boyfriend had answered the door and invited him in. All through dinner Makoto had kept giving him hot, intense looks across the table, until poor Eiji was squirming in his chair. He’d blushed profusely red when Makoto’s mother had asked him in concern if anything was wrong. He’d wanted to smack his boyfriend for laughing silently at his stuttering denials, but the lust he'd felt had overwhelmed his annoyance. 

When they'd finally gone upstairs to do ‘homework’, the redhead had been nearly sick with nervousness and anticipation. Makoto had led the way into his room, and the moment the door had closed behind the two boys, he’d pulled Eiji in for a deep kiss. It had been a wonderful kiss, and what had followed after was even better. Slowly, tenderly, Makoto had taken his clothes off, and then had draped Eiji’s pale body on his bed so that he could admire every inch of it. Admire it not just with his eyes, but with his lips and tongue and fingers. The redhead had been delirious with desire by the time that Makoto had finally stripped himself, and joined Eiji on the bed for the inevitable conclusion.

It had hurt, of course, but not as badly as he would have imagined. Makoto had been liberal in his use of lube, and he’d worked Eiji up to such a height of passion that the pain he'd felt when Makoto finally pushed into him had been drowned in the waves of pleasure rushing through his body. And each thrust had made him feel even better. He’d risen up to his peak, as Makoto’s hand had stroked him in time with each thrust. It had felt so good, so damn good, and Makoto’s deep groans had made him feel like his head was going to explode…

In the end, it wasn’t his head that had exploded. The latent pyrokenisis that dwelt within Eiji’s body had been released by the rush of hormones generated by the sexual act, and the powerful orgasm he'd experienced. He himself had had no idea that he was an Esper, since most of these mental powers didn’t start to show up until the person’s teenage years. Puberty was the catalyst for most of the stronger Esper abilities. He’d only learned about it when he'd screamed in pleasure, came all over Makoto’s hand…and burst into flames. 

Makoto had screamed in shock and agony, as his lover went up in flames under him. He’d pulled away wildly, but not before his entire torso, most of his arms, and part of his legs and thighs had been badly burned. He fell on the floor of his room, still screaming, until he'd finally blessedly passed out from shock, and the awful pain of the first degree burns that covered almost his entire body. Eiji had been frozen on the bed the entire time, terrified and with no conscious way to dowse the flames that still roared outward from his body, and charred a black outline around him on the bedspread. He'd finally found breath to scream as well, although his screams had been of sheer fear. 

The flames had finally stopped naturally. Makoto’s parents had arrived in the doorway, taken one look at their son, and had run to call an ambulance. At least his father did, since his mother had fainted dead way right there in the doorway. Ten minutes later paramedics and firemen had arrived at the house, to find a gasping, sobbing Eiji huddled on the bed, and a desperately burned Makoto lying on his bedroom floor. They’d taken the burned boy to the hospital, and Eiji to a special center for the identification and training of those with Esper abilities. He’d been in shock, and had had therapy for a long time while he was living at the Center learning to consciously control his pyrokenisis.

Makoto hadn’t died of his injuries, but he was covered in burn scars and partially disabled. And it was all Eiji’s fault. He could never forget that. Nor could he forget the fact that his parents’ lives had been destroyed because of him, since Makoto’s parents had sued them to pay for the enormous medical bills entailed in their son’s recovery. Eiji himself was still helping to pay off the settlement out of his generous salary, for it was his fault and certainly not his parents’. The only thing they were responsible for was carrying the genes to produce an Esper, and since neither of them had known that they had the recessive gene necessary that wasn’t really their fault, either. 

That’s why he couldn’t bring himself to try to have sex again with anyone else. It was true that he was now in control of his ability, but what if he lost that control again during the sexual act? He had no idea if he might do so, since he’d been too frightened to ever try to be with someone else. The agony of guilt he felt over Makoto was bad enough. If it ever happened again, if he ended up hurting someone else...he knew he’d go mad. That’s why he had refused his boyfriends, and that is why they inevitably broke up with him. And the sad thing was, that he couldn’t even really blame them. He was a healthy, attractive young male. They wanted to have sex with him, and since the two of them were dating that was truly understandable. But even knowing why they did it, it still didn’t stop the pain when they broke up with him. 

Eiji rubbed at his forehead. He needed to talk to someone. He’d kept this bottled up inside of him for so long that it was beginning to eat at him. And he knew the perfect person to tell: His friend, Lieutenant Oishi. Oishi was an empath, and an all-around good guy. He wouldn’t judge Eiji, but would merely listen to the redhead’s story, and maybe be able to give him some good advice as to what he should do about his not-so-little problem. He turned his steps in the direction of the subway, because he could ride it almost right to Oishi’s doorstep. 

 

 

Oishi Shuichiro was watching a baseball game on t.v., when his doorbell rang. He set down the beer he’d been drinking on the coffee table and got out of his big, comfortable leather chair. He went over to the door and opened it, his brown eyes lighting up a bit when he saw his friend Eiji Kikumaru standing in the hallway. “Hello, Eiji,” he said cheerfully. “What brings you here today? Have you come to hang out with me on our day off?”

Eiji smiled rather wanly. “Sort of,” he said. “I really need someone to talk to, Oishi.” 

 

The sadness in his voice and also in the feelings leaking through his shields made Oishi become serious at once. “What is it?” he asked rather anxiously. “Has something happened, Eiji?”

“Hai. And I really need someone to talk to.”

“Come in,” Oishi stepped back from the door immediately and invited the redhead into his apartment. “Sit down and I’ll make us some tea. Then you can tell me all about it.”

Eiji did as directed, sitting down on the couch and watching as Oishi puttered around in his small kitchen putting the tea kettle on. When the brown-haired man returned to the living room, he sat back down in his chair and directed a keen, sympathetic look at Eiji. “Tell me,” he said, and Eiji did.

He told Oishi everything, from what had happened when he was sixteen to his latest break-up. The empath listened quietly, asking a few questions but other than that saying nothing. He let Eiji get it all off of his chest, and the pyrokinetic instantly felt a little better just for having laid his problem out in front of the capable Oishi. When he finally stopped talking, the other man said slowly: “So you’re afraid to have sex with any of your boyfriends because you might lose control of your gift again and burn them,” he said. Eiji nodded glumly. 

Oishi sighed. “Well,” he commented, scratching thoughtfully at his own head, “There’s only one solution to your problem that I can see, Eiji.”

“What?” the redhead asked eagerly, because if there were any way to get past this problem he really wanted to know what it was.

Oishi rolled his shoulders a bit. “It’s simple,” he said quietly. “You’ll have to have sex with me.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oishi explains his plan to Eiji, and Fuji thinks about his crush on Tezuka.

Eiji stared at Oishi with his sapphire eyes bugging out of his head, and his mouth gaping open. The empath’s lips twitched a little at the expression on his red-headed friend’s face. Eiji more resembled a landed carp, than anything else. Clearly, he thought that Oishi had gone stark-raving mad. “W-What?” the firestarter managed to get out. “What do you mean I should have sex with you! Oishi, aren’t you…?”

“Straight?” the empath finished for him calmly. “Of course. But I also happen to care for you, Eiji. You’re my friend, and I don’t like to see you in pain. The only way that I can think to help is to have sex with you. Remember, I’m an empath. I’ll be able to monitor you during, and I’ll be able to tell if your powers are starting to spin out of control. If I see that they are, I can get out of the way in time to save myself. And if they don’t, well, you’ll know that it’s safe for you to have sex with your boyfriend. Once you get a new one, that is,” he added with a small grin. 

Eiji’s mouth slowly closed. He was amazed that Oishi was making such an offer. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to – the truth was, he’d been attracted to Oishi since he’d first met him at the police academy’s special esper division training course. But the other man had never evinced any interest in him sexually, despite the fact that they had become close friends. To actually get to have sex with Oishi, if even only one time, was a dream come true. But still…

“Is this truly the only way?” he asked. “I don’t want you to have to do this if we can find some other way to get around my problem.”

Oishi scratched at his head again contemplatively. "Well, there is one other person who can help you in this way,” he pointed out. “And as far as I know, he’s gay.”

“Who?” the redhead asked. He had the sneaking suspicion that he wasn’t going to like the answer he got.

He was right. Oishi’s dark-green eyes began to gleam with a decidedly amused light. “Why, Fuji, of course,” he replied. “He is a telepath, after all. He could monitor you in the same way that I can.”

He burst out laughing at the horrified expression that rushed over Eiji’s face. A sudden vision of the redhead actually asking Fuji for such a favor ran through his mind, and he began to laugh even harder. Eiji glared at him, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. “So, you see,” he spluttered when he could finally speak again. “You might be wiser to let me help you, Eiji. Although if you DO decide to ask Fuji, I want to be there when you do so…”

The firestarter growled in annoyance, crossing his arms over his chest. “Ohh, you’re SO funny, Oishi,” he grumped.

The Lieutenant finally recovered his breath. He smiled at his disgruntled friend. “Then it’s me or nothing,” he said gently. “Please let me help you, Eiji. I want to. I don’t want you to have to live with this fear anymore, or to miss out on having someone in your life because you can’t be with them physically. What do you say?”

The redhead hesitated a moment longer, but finally nodded. This was what he really wanted anyway – to get to be with Oishi, and to maybe clear up this eternal problem of his at the same time. He felt a tad nervous, though, and his sapphire eyes cut to the bedroom door. “Would we…?” he asked hesitantly.

Oishi understood what he was asking immediately. 

“No, not today,” he said as Eiji looked almost relieved. “You’ve only been with another man once, and I never have. It would be pretty awkward if we tried it without either of us really knowing what we’re doing. How about this – we’ll set a date to do it, and I’ll do some research and get whatever we need. Then we can take our time over this thing.”

Eiji nodded again. “But Oishi,” he said. “You’re not attracted to guys. How will you…? Umm, get excited?” he asked as a faint blush spread up his cheeks.

Oishi couldn’t help but grin at that blush. “That won’t be a problem, as long as you’re excited,” he pointed out. “I’m an empath, I’ll be able to feel your excitement and it’ll help me along. So, do you think you could get excited about having sex with me?” he asked rather doubtfully, as though he had no idea of his own attractions. Which he probably didn’t, Eiji thought in faint exasperation mixed with a rush of very strong feeling toward his wonderful friend, “I mean, I know you like guys, but that doesn’t mean that you’re attracted to every one of them…”

:You idiot, Oishi: Eiji thought as he shook his head and said aloud “I am attracted to you, Oishi, I’ve just never told you so because I thought it might make you uncomfortable. And I didn’t want to ruin our friendship.”

The empath nodded, looking happier. “All right. What day would be good for you? Probably on one of our days off, because then we wouldn’t have to worry about work that night.”

"Friday,” Eiji said unhesitatingly. That was their first day of the week off, and that would give them a day to recover their footing as friends after actually having sex together. It might be a little weird between them for a while, but if Oishi was willing he was desperate enough to accept this solution.

“Okay,” Oishi rolled his shoulders. “Friday, it is. So, you want to stay and watch the rest of the game with me?” he asked hopefully, making Eiji want to laugh. Oishi was the greatest guy he knew. He wasn’t getting awkward around Eiji, even though he was a straight guy who had committed himself to having sex with his gay friend just to help that friend out. A lot of straight guys would have gotten all stiff and weird at this point, but not Oishi. 

 

“Yeah, I’d like to,” he said. “And…thanks, Oishi, for doing this for me. I’ll never forget this,” he added earnestly.

Oishi reached out and patted his knee in a friendly manner. “What are friends for, but to help each other?” he said quietly. “I would do anything for you, Eiji. This isn’t asking that much from that point of view.”

The redhead felt that swelling of emotion again, rising up in his chest as he looked into those sweet brown eyes. He had a suspicion that he shouldn’t be feeling this way about his straight friend, but he couldn’t help himself. He blinked back tears as he replied huskily: “I would do anything for you, too, Oishi. Whenever you need something, just ask.”

Oishi smiled. “I will,” he said, and Eiji knew that he meant that. 

 

Fuji Syusuke sat at an outdoor table at a coffee shop, reading the book he’d started yesterday and sipping at a latte. No one was sharing the little table with him, nor was there anyone sitting at any of the tables in a ring around him, even though the coffee shop was fairly busy. The telepath had made sure that he had his privacy, and that he was left alone to read his book in peace. He was not an extrovert, and he didn’t always enjoy other people’s company. Especially when their thoughts crowded against his shields, trying to force their way in. He always got a certain amount of leakage, stray thoughts wafting through his brain, when he least expected it. 

Fuji was extremely cynical, but then having the gift (or curse, depending on how you looked at it) to be able to hear other people’s thoughts, he had the right to be. Humanity as a whole were base, rotten, twisted creatures, full of dark and violent thoughts. If there was such a thing as saints, Fuji had never encountered one. While it was true that his own brain was also extremely twisted, at least HIS dark thoughts didn’t leak out into other people’s brains to add to their load of mental crap. 

He was coming to an extremely hot part of the novel. Reading about the two gorgeous male main characters going at it like rabid weasels was not good for certain parts of Fuji’s body. He discretely squirmed in his chair, feeling the pleasantly-painful sensation of his penis filling with blood as it half-stiffened in his pants. Despite being rather uncomfortable and worked up, however, his pointed face showed very little expression, and his magnetic blue eyes were half-lidded and cool. It was impossible for any of the other customers of the coffee shop to realize that the slim man, reading alone at the small table, had a stiffie in his trousers. Fuji had always been very good at concealing his thoughts and emotions. 

He thought idly to himself that he should just go home and masturbate soon. And he knew exactly who he’d be thinking of when he did so. Ahh, the deadly handsome, extremely sexy, and totally unobtainable Captain Tezuka Kunimitsu…The man that Fuji had lusted after from a distance for some time, now. The man who wasn’t interested in return, because he dated women…the man that Fuji had come to accept that he’d never be able to have. He tried not to let this thought depress him most of the time, as that was just the way it was. One couldn’t change Fate. Even if she happened to be a bitch that’d created the prefect man for him and then had callously made him a heterosexual…

Fuji grimaced faintly. :I’m going to be the world’s oldest virgin: he thought. Yes, that was right. He, Fuji Syusuke, a man who had a high libido and an intense love of sex, was actually a virgin. There was a very good reason for that. Fuji’s telepathic abilities had developed early, and he’d been able to hear other people’s thoughts since he was about seven or so. When he’d finally hit puberty, and had begun to date other guys, he was eager to experience sexual intercourse and everything that went with it. But what he hadn’t counted on, was the thoughts that would be running through the heads of the guys who wanted to have sex with him in return. He had come to see that the human male teenager was the most selfish, coarse, nasty creature in the known universe. Fuji was a sensitive creature, even if he didn’t look it. And a romantic one, as well. To hear himself being referred to in his boyfriends’ thoughts as a whore, a slut, and an easy lay had not helped him to maintain the mood. 

After awhile, a new word was added to these boys’ mental vocabulary: cock tease. Fuji never made it past a few gropes and/or kisses without cooling completely on the whole thing. He’d finally given up in frustration, walling himself away from boys he found attractive so that he wouldn’t give in, and start dating yet another one who’d turn out to be a total pig. He just couldn’t take it anymore. He hadn’t dated anyone throughout the last two years of high school, and he'd warily entered college - only to discover that college boys were very similar to their counterparts in high school. His frustration took on a kind of despair, but what was he to do? He couldn’t maintain any kind of sexual desire during sex when his potential partners’ thoughts wormed their way into his head. It was like having a bucket of cold water dumped on his head.

When he’d gone through esper training to join the police force, he’d found it a blessed relief that all espers were taught to shield their thoughts. He had mental silence, except for his own thoughts, for the first time since he was a small boy. And here, he knew, was the perfect place to start looking around for a man who attracted him. Having sex with another esper would be paradise. And he had found a few potentials among the other cadets, and was just starting to try to get to know them, when his class took a tour of the various esper squads’ departments so that they could see what it would be like to work in one of them. The class they’d been in at the time was an evening one, so the night squads were just coming in to work. And the Captain of the 8th Precinct Esper Squad had been kind enough to show the cadets around and answer their questions…

Well, that had been that. Fuji could remember with great clarity the first time he'd ever seen Tezuka. His stomach had started leaping and twisting inside of him, his breath had started to come short, and his heart had started pounding in his chest wildly. He might have feared he was sick or having a heart attack, but he knew better. It was, purely and simply, love at first sight. For him, anyway. If Tezuka even noticed him in the small crowd of cadets, he gave no sign of it. He'd simply answered their questions coolly and calmly, his hazel eyes steady behind the lenses of his narrow, gold-framed glasses. 

Fuji’s legs had been trembling by the time they'd left the 8th Precinct. And he was determined about one thing – he knew exactly where he wanted to end up once his training was done. It hadn’t been that hard to gently influence the minds of those who would be placing him after graduation. It was unethical, but he just hadn’t cared. He wanted, no NEEDED to be on the 8th Precinct Esper Squad’s nightshift. And he got what he wanted. He could also clearly remember the almost sickening excitement he’d felt when he got the papers assigning him to the very place he wished to be. 

When he’d reported for his first shift, the Captain had greeted him courteously but distantly. Fuji had wanted to flirt, to try to get his attention, but the truth was he just wasn’t versed in that art. His hands had been sweating where they were folded in his lap, and he’d stared so hard at the other man it was a wonder that Tezuka didn’t think that he was crazy or something. In the long run, though, he was grateful that he hadn’t tried to come on to the other man. For when he was just meeting his new partner, Kinoko, she’d looked over his shoulder and had said: “Oh, there’s the Captain’s girlfriend.”

Fuji’s head had whipped around so quickly it was wonder he didn’t get whiplash. A truly stunning woman was walking toward the Captain’s office, and his heart sank as he took in long legs encased in dark nylons, and a red suit that covered a slender but curvaceous form. He’d had the sudden urge to sob right then and there, as he'd realized that the man that he’d fallen instantly in love with was a heterosexual. Kinoko had asked him what was wrong, and he’d replied dully that he wasn’t feeling well. And that was true, for he’d felt completely sick to his stomach.

And so his love life rested in limbo, because he’d discovered that encountering Tezuka had killed his desire for anyone else altogether. Just when he’d found a solution to his problem, that evil creature Fate had booted him in the ass once more. The Gods hated Fuji Syusuke. They must hate him, for they’d burdened him with a ‘gift’ that he didn’t want, a highly-charged (and highly-frustrated) libido, and an unrequited love in the shape of the handsome Captain Tezuka. He was just waiting for a rock to drop out of the sky on top of his head, since that was the only thing he could expect from such a cruel universe.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The body of the Stalker of the Night's latest victim is discovered, and Inui thinks about his attraction to Kaidou.

A key snicked in the lock of the apartment. The landlord spoke over his shoulder to the concerned-looking man standing behind him. “Here we are,” he said. “Tashibana-san?” he called as he led the way into the front hallway. “Are you here? Are you all right? Your friend Miyamoto-san is here. He’s worried about you.”

There was no response to his calls. Both men heard the sound of the t.v. in the living room, so they made their way in that direction. But before they even made it to the archway that opened up into the room, both men reeled back from a truly putrid smell hanging in the air. “By the Gods! What is that smell?!” cried Miyamoto, throwing his arm up to shield his face from the awful stench.

“I don’t know,” the landlord replied muffledly from behind his own sleeve. “It smells as though a giant rat died in here and is rotting in the wall.”

Now really concerned about his friend, the man Miyamoto forced himself to go to the arch and look into the living room. He could see that the t.v. screen was flickering with a game show, but the room seemed to be empty. Then he saw the black hair of the man sitting in the recliner, and he called: “Kenji?! Are you okay?” he plunged into the living room, trying to breathe as little as possible, as he hurried over to the recliner to see if the dreadful smell had done something to his friend. Perhaps he’d passed out, and was in danger of suffocation? He put his hand on his friend’s shoulder as he came abreast of the chair, and to his horror felt something SQUELCH under his fingers! His eyes bugged out as he stared down at the face of the man sitting in the chair, and his lips pulled back from his teeth in a rictus of terror. 

A strangled sound was torn from his throat, and he dimly heard the landlord say urgently: “What is the matter Miyamoto-san? What’s wrong? Is he all right?!” 

But he couldn’t answer. He could only stare at the ‘face’ of the man who had once been his friend. The image of Kenji’s face, blackened and putrefying, with the flesh sloughing off of it so that the bone showed whitely through, would be burned into his brain for the rest of his life. Shock finally got the best of him, along with the horrible odor of the rotting body in the chair, and he fell backward in a dead faint onto the living room floor. 

 

 

“By the Gods!” the police detective took a step back from the sight in the chair, as the forensic pathologist bent over it. Even though he was wearing a mask to cut the smell, the detective still felt sick. Even wearing gloves, he didn’t know how the pathologist could stand to touch the horror slumped in the recliner. 

The pathologist shook his head as he straightened up at last. “There’s nothing I can do here,” he remarked clinically. “You’ll have to call in our Esper Squad.”

“What?! Why?” demanded the detective. He didn’t really like the espers, despite the fact that they foiled and/or solved a lot of crime in the precinct. Or maybe it was because of that. But whatever it was, he hated having to deal with the espers, especially that one guy. Grey-haired bastard was scary, and he’d been known to casually attack people who were just standing around if his anger got out of control. Why, oh why, had the powers-that-be seen fit to transfer Detective Akutsu Jin to the 6th Precinct Day Squad? The guy’s nickname around the precinct was Rage, for the Gods' sake! And now the pathologist was RECOMMENDING that they call in that crazy sucker and his bunch to deal with this crime?

The pathologist sighed patiently. “This should not be possible,” he said, waving a hand at the thing that had once been a man. “He’s only been dead for perhaps twelve hours, and yet the rate of decay on the body is that of a corpse which has been dead and not embalmed for perhaps a month or so.”

Silence. The detective gaped at him. The pathologist nodded. “You see? That's why I believe that this death was caused by a person with some kind of esper ability. And the best people to catch an esper are other espers. Let’s face it, Detective – wouldn’t you rather let them handle this if the killer is an esper? Or do YOU want to go up against a person who can do this?” he pointed to the body again.

The detective felt a shiver run through his body. “Okay,” he said with far less reluctance than before. “I’ll put in the call. Leave the body where it is so that they can see it.” 

The pathologist nodded as the detective left to call the station and have the 6th Precinct Esper Squad sent over to look at the nasty corpse. Hopefully those freaks would be able to figure this one out, because he really didn’t want to try to handle a case where the killer could reduce a man to so much goo. He was only a normal guy, and he strongly suspected that a gun would be useless in this case.

 

 

Detective Momoshiro Takeshi bounced on his toes as he grinned at his partner Echizen Ryoma. “Serve it up, pipsqueak!” he called merrily, and his purple eyes sparkled as the smaller man tossed the tennis ball into the air and lobbed it neatly toward him. 

He returned this serve easily, and watched as Ryoma dashed after the ball. Echizen was amazingly quick. Ryoma’s bronze-gold eyes gleamed, as he hit the ball with a nasty twist of his wrist that sent it back across the court in a low, flat arc that would be hard to return. Momo chuckled, as he twisted his body into a near-pretzel so that he could hook his racket up under the ball, and send it back at his green-haired partner in a spinning lob. He was aware that a small crowd had gathered to watch them at the edge of the court, which was a public one in one of Tokyo’s larger parks.

 

The two men were good enough that the watchers probably thought that they were pros, which they might have been if they hadn’t started developing esper abilities in their early teens. Both had been on their junior high and high school tennis teams, but unfortunately espers were not allowed to play professional sports against normal people. It would be too easy for them to cheat using their powers. Never mind that neither man ever did; the rules were the rules. So they contented themselves by playing against each other regularly, in matches that were a dazzling display of skill and form.

Momo began to pant a little, as Echizen ran him around the court. He was thoroughly enjoying himself. Playing against Ryo, being partners with him, and also being such close friends - he had almost everything he wanted. Almost. Because the truth was, he’d been in love with his little partner for a good while now. But where romancing Echizen Ryoma was concerned, he had one not so little problem (and, if you considered the size of his massive ego, one very LARGE problem). That problem was Echizen’s on-again, off-again boyfriend, the artist and socialite Atobe Keigo. Momo hated Atobe with a passion. That wasn’t just because the other man had what he himself wanted most, but because Atobe was a proud, vain, smirking, egotistical jerk-off. The way he treated Echizen was just despicable, in Momo’s opinion. He seemed to see Ryo as nothing more than some kind of exotic, trained pet, to be trotted out at the parties he was always throwing so that he could show off the esper he was fucking. 

Echizen himself often became exasperated and infuriated with the way he was treated by Atobe, and would break up with him after a stormy scene. But then that bastard would always come smarming around after a few days, all conciliatory and charming, and would sweep Ryoma off his feet again. For a while, anyway. Then he’d go back to his normal behavior, ignoring Echizen or treating him with an off-hand, contemptuous manner that always made Momo see red. How he’d like to teleport that son-of-a-bitch right into a solid concrete wall! And he would have, too, if he hadn’t known that such a move on his part would break up he and Echizen’s friendship. So he endured watching Echizen and Atobe with gritted teeth, and thoughts of homicide kept firmly in his own head. He was pretty sure that Fuji had caught a stray thought or two of his on this subject, because when he got really mad his shields tended to disintegrate. But the telepath had said nothing about it, merely shooting him a sympathetic look whenever Atobe would show up at the station for Echizen when Ryo’s shift was over. 

What they had together would have to be enough for him, Momo mused as he returned yet another deadly shot from his grinning opponent. Because Atobe seemed to have a firm hold on Echizen’s heart, no matter what crass, boorish things he did and said to the esper. Momo longed to win that heart, to be able to love Echizen as he deserved to be loved. There was nothing in the world too good for his green-haired partner, not in Momo’s eyes. But until the demon known as Atobe Keigo could be exorcised, he knew that he didn’t stand a chance of wooing and winning Ryoma. Until such time as something happened to finally break those two up for good (and he was starting to think that nothing would, much to his despair), he would have to continue being the best friend/partner to the lovely little creature known as Echizen Ryoma. And that would have to be enough. For now, anyway. For now.

 

Detective Inui Sadaharu was spending his afternoon, before his shift began, writing in his tiny study. Inuit’s hobby was the study of crime, much like Sherlock Holmes. He recorded facts, details, the frequencies of each kind of crime committed in the city, the precise location of each crime, you name it…This data had helped him to anticipate crimes almost as effectively as Captain Tezuka did with his precognitive visions. The subject never ceased to fascinate him, and today was no exception. He was creating a flow chart on his computer, showing the frequency of violent murders in all parts of the city. Of course the poorer parts of Tokyo tended to have more murders take place, but these were mostly simple straight-forward killings over drugs or poverty or domestic disputes. Inui was far more interested in the white-collar murders, because the reasons for these particular crimes were so much more intricate. 

He frowned, noticing an anomaly in his data. His fingers stopped moving as he stared at his screen. There was a cluster of murders that had started in and around they Shinjuku District, which wasn’t a huge surprise. The notorious ‘red-light’ district was a haven for trouble, sleaze, and crime. But then those murders had moved outward in a strange sort of spiral pattern, all across the city. Each and every one of these murders were peculiar, in and of themselves. But what was even more peculiar, was that no one before this seemed to have realized that these murders had to be connected to one another. Were, perhaps, being committed by the same individual. Strange. Strange and disturbing. He drummed his fingers on the desktop as his mind ticked over like a well-oiled machine.

He’d continue to study this anomaly. If he was right, a serial killer was loose in Tokyo. A killer who murdered people in some very nasty ways, and left no traces of himself at the crime scenes. Once he’d collected enough data, he could take it to Captain Tezuka. Tezuka would listen to what he had to say, and if he could prove what he was saying would act. Inui greatly respected Captain Tezuka. The man had a cool, calmly-logical mind that was much like Inui’s own in same ways. He certainly wasn’t like Inui’s wretched partner, Kaidoh Kaoru…

At this thought, Inui's forest-green eyes flicked to the photo on his desktop. It was a picture of Kaidoh, standing in front of the police station, dressed in his formal black-and-silver Esper Squad uniform. That uniform was very becoming on the rather dark man, throwing his black eyes and snaky dark hair into relief. He looked austerely handsome in the photograph. Whenever he looked at that picture, Inui had the terrible urge to rip that uniform off of the muscular body underneath it and fuck Kaidoh’s brains out. Over and over and over again. 

He frowned even more darkly at this thought, his data compiling forgotten for a moment. Why? Why was he so physically attracted to Kaidoh? The man was an animal. All instincts, guts and ferocious temper, with no brains to back it up. It was very hard, Inui thought, to desire so badly someone he didn’t even like. He’d considered more than once just having sex with Kaidoh, to get it over with and see if he could get his partner out of his system. The only problem with that was that he suspected that it wouldn’t help. That he’d want the other man even more, not less, if they actually had sex. That’s why he’d resisted Kaidoh’s occasional advance before this. He didn’t want to lose that much control over himself. Kaidoh was the only person he’d ever met that threatened that control, which was one of the reasons that Inui didn’t like him. But apparently, liking someone and lusting after them were two separate events. Because no matter how much he disliked his partner, Inui still wanted Kaidoh. In the worst way. 

He made a small sound of exasperation, as even these thoughts and looking at the photo made him get an erection. Damn it! Why couldn’t he get rid of this desire? All he wanted was to return to the person he had been before he'd met his new partner. He’d had a few relationships before that fateful event, but all of them had been brief. He’d decided both when it started and when it ended, and had been in perfect control of it all through each one. Being with Kaidoh, he instinctively knew, would be nothing like those other relationships. There was no way that he could control the other man. Kaidoh was far too fiery and bull-headed to allow him to do so. Instead, he greatly feared that his partner would overwhelm him with the passion that burned at his core, and would change Inui irrevocably into something he was not prepared to become. So, that was why he refused to get involved with Kaidoh, no matter how much he wanted his partner. He was simply too scared of what would happen to him if he did.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The espers are in force to look over the body left by the Stalker of the Night.

The detective winced as there was a clatter out in the hall, then a light, merry voice sang out: “Here we are!” and Lieutenant Sengoku Kiyosami burst into the apartment, as though he were an actor emerging onto the stage in front of a large crowd. Beaming azure eyes ran over the room, finally landing on the detective, who was wishing heartily that he were somewhere else. Anywhere else. He’d forgotten, with his preoccupation over the crazed Akutsu, just how annoying Lieutenant Sengoku actually was. 

“Lucky!” yelled the lieutenant, bouncing over to slap the detective on the back. A glare was his only response, but he ignored it. He always did. “Aren’t you happy to see us?” he crowed to the detective, who resisted the urge to pull his gun and just shoot the irritating, orange-haired esper right here and now. 

“Us?” the detective repeated, looking at the empty hall behind the lieutenant.

“Oh, yeah,” the esper whirled around, put his fingers in his mouth, and whistled a high, piercing whistle. The detective winced, and his hand actually reached involuntarily for his gun. 

There was a sudden flood of people into the apartment, including detectives Nitobe, Nishikiori, Muromachi, Kita, and Higashikata. For a moment the police detective felt relief, for there was no sign of a certain grey-haired esper. But then he gulped, as a tall figure strolled in the door after the rest, a pair of old-molasses-colored eyes sweeping the room from under narrowed eyelids. Detective Akutsu Jin sneered a bit, his mouth twisted, as he walked into the crime scene like he owned the place. Behind him, a much smaller man brought up the rear. The detective didn’t recognize this one; he must be new. He saw a pair of large brown eyes, full of an innocent curiosity and interest, peeking out from behind Akutsu’s huge frame. 

“Ahh, here comes Rage and Tranquility,” Sengoku said in satisfaction. The detective looked at him blankly. He knew that Akutsu’s nickname, even among his fellow espers, was Rage. But Tranquility? Seeing his puzzled look, the orange-haired man giggled. 

“Ahh, that’s right. You’ve never met our newest detective have you? Detective Dan!” he called. “Front and center. Let me introduce you.”

The police detective started to say that he didn’t really want to meet yet another esper, but the smaller man had already come out from behind Akutsu and was hurrying over to them. He saw that the big brown eyes went along with a pointed, rather elfin face, a shock of long, dark hair, and a slim, lithe-looking body. A sunny smile spread over the esper’s face. The detective found himself almost unable to resist that smile. For some reason he found himself smiling back. Moreover, he suddenly felt very relaxed and calm. He heard Sengoku snicker next to him at his reaction to the little esper, but he couldn’t work up any outrage right at this moment. 

“Detective, this is our new recruit. He just transferred here from Kyoto, at Captain Minami’s request. We’ve partnered him with Detective Akutsu. His name is Dan Taichi.”

The smaller man bowed to the police detective. “It’s really nice to meet you!” he piped up cheerfully. 

“Uhh, hai. It’s really nice to meet you, too, Detective Dan,” the police detective replied slowly. And the weird thing was - he really felt that way. What was going on?

Sengoku snickered again. “Okay, Dan-kun, get back to Akutsu before he destroys something,” he said to the smaller esper. The younger man nodded his head as though it had a spring attached to it, and scurried back to the tall, grey-haired man’s side. Akutsu scowled at the kid, but made no other move to hit or hurt him. 

“What is going on?” hissed the police detective, curiosity eating at him. “What did that kid do to me?”

Lieutenant Sengoku looked smug. “Ahh, we were really lucky where he’s concerned,” he replied smugly. Since his esper ability was mostly a truly outrageously good run of luck at any time, he of course was taking full credit for whatever this was, “He’s the perfect partner for Rage, because Dan-kun is a Projector.”

The police detective stared at him blankly. “A what?”

Sengoku’s lips twitched. “A Projector. Sort of a reverse empath. He doesn’t take in other people’s emotions; rather, he projects his own onto them, instead. And since he’d basically a really cheerful, happy, sweet kid, all he ever projects normally are good vibrations. Everybody around him tends to become happy, and calm, and to feel really good. You should see him in the middle of a riot. They had one at the university in Kyoto before he was transferred. I’ve seen the tape. He just walked into the middle of all these screaming mad students, and I swear it was like the ripples on water. It just spread out around him, and suddenly everybody was calm and conciliatory. The students and the faculty came to terms right then and there, and there was no bitching on either side. Damndest thing I’ve ever seen.” Sengoku paused, his azure eyes agleam. “That’s why we requested him. You should see what he’s done for Akutsu. You won’t believe your eyes.” 

The police detective gave the esper lieutenant a skeptical stare. “I’m supposed to believe that there’s someone who can actually cage that crazy mother?” he asked in disbelief.

Sengoku shrugged. “Just wait and see,” he said as he strolled away. “Now where’s this body you wanted us to look at?” he added in a much louder voice.

“In the living room. Put a mask on,” the detective said. “The smell’s almost unbearable in there.”

Sengoku took the mask the detective handed him and put it on. “It does smell pretty bad in here,” he remarked. “The rest of you,” he said to his squad, “Get masks as well. Let’s go and see this body, hmm?”

The other espers collected masks from one of the policemen, although Akutsu looked at his as though he were offended by it. But Dan lightly touched his arm, and the grey-haired esper blinked a bit. Then he shrugged and put the mask on. Taichi’s brown eyes smiled as he walked beside his much taller partner into the living room, to look at the ghastly corpse still slumped in a recliner in front of the t.v. 

There were some collective gasps of horror from the espers, as they got a really good look at the rotting dead man. Dan actually swayed, his big brown eyes going even wider, and only Akutsu’s hard hand on his shoulder kept him from falling down in a dead faint on the floor. Sengoku made a sound that could have been “Ick," as he looked over the disgusting corpse. “You say that he’s only been dead for about twelve hours?” he asked the forensic pathologist. 

 

The other man nodded. “That is correct.” 

“That shouldn’t be possible,” noted Detective Nitobe. “The rate of decay on this body is…”

“Hai. That’s why I suggested that your squad was brought in here. I believe that this was caused by some kind of esper.”

“You might be right,” Detective Higashikata said slowly. He had put out his hand and was running it through the air just above the corpse, not quite touching it. He frowned as his eyes went far away. “This is more than peculiar,” he said aloud as his hand stopped just above the dead man’s face. 

“What is it?” asked Sengoku curiously. 

The esper detective shrugged. “All of this man’s life energy is gone,” Higashikata replied to his Lieutenant’s question. “When a person dies, their life energy generally lingers around the corpse for at least three days. But this man is totally empty – not a trace of life energy left. He is truly nothing but meat.”

“Do you think something sucked him dry?” asked Nitobe. “Some kind of energy vampire?”

“Perhaps,” Higashikata said. “But I don’t feel any traces of another esper’s power on him, either. If this WAS an esper, it was a very powerful one, who leaves no traces of him or herself on the body of their victim. I find that thought disturbing,” he added, shaking his head.

All of them did. “And there were no signs of forced entry into the apartment,” noted Sengoku. He looked at the police detective. “Isn’t that right?"

The other man nodded. “The door was locked, and the lock wasn’t damaged or picked,” he said succinctly. “Nor did we find any fingerprints, traces of hair or skin…well, basically we didn’t find anything,” he added. “There were no signs of whoever did this, in the room or out in the hall.” 

The espers exchanged glances. “So, the killer might be a teleporter, or someone who can change the density of his own molecular structure,” Nitobe said rather grimly.

At the police detective’s blank look, Lieutenant Sengoku explained. “A teleporter could have teleported him or herself right through the door,” he said. “And an esper who can change their own molecular density would simply be able to walk through doors and walls as though they didn’t exist.”

The police detective looked uneasy at this explanation. “Doesn’t that mean that this killer has more than one esper ability?” he asked. 

Sengoku nodded. His azure eyes were for once not gleaming with merriment and the sly wit that he usually displayed. They were darkened with worry. “Hai. And that is bad,” he said. “Very, very bad.”

 

Into the solemn, grim atmosphere a harsh laugh barked out, making everyone jump. “Don’t everybody shit yourselves,” sneered Akutsu as he strolled over to the rotting corpse, and looked it over with his crazed animal eyes. “Bunch of scared little babies. Sure, this is some terrible esper who’s gonna fry us all. Apparently, you’ve all forgotten that WE’RE espers too – and that there are a lot more of us than there is of this guy. And let’s face it,” he added over his shoulder, “Everyone can be killed. No matter how powerful they are. So why don’t you all get spine transplants, and let’s go catch this bastard, eh?”

“And just how do you suggest we do that?” Lieutenant Sengoku said in exasperation. “We have no clues, nothing to go on.”

Akutsu sighed in disgust. “You think that this is the first time this guy has killed?” he said coldly. “I’ll bet that he’s whacked a lot of people. I bet we’ll find a trail of bodies, if we look.”

Sengoku’s eyebrows were rising as he stared at Akutsu. “What makes you think that?” he asked.

Akutsu snorted. “Because he,” Akutsu waved a hand at Higashikata, “Said that this guy’s life force is gone. All of it. You think an amateur, killing for the very first time, would be able to remove every trace? This smacks of a pro, somebody who’s done this often enough to be very, very good at it.”

Higashikata visibly gulped. “I’m afraid that he’s right, Lieutenant,” he said to Sengoku. “A person would have to practice to perfect this ability, just as all of us have to practice to perfect our own powers.”

Silence. Even Taichi’s genial nature seemed to be disturbed by Akutsu’s observation. His big brown eyes were anxious above the mask he was wearing. Sengoku cursed softly. “So, we might have an esper serial killer loose in the city,” he said aloud what everyone was thinking. 

 

Akutsu finally dragged his small partner out of the apartment. Dan was very pale, and looked like he was going to be sick. The grey-haired esper led Taichi to a fire door, and stiff-armed it open. His eyes glowed with fury when the alarm went off, and he reached up and grabbed it. There was a squeal as the metal was twisted in his fingers, then he tossed the alarm away off the small fire escape. He pulled Dan’s mask off next, looking the smaller man’s face over. “You gonna be sick?” he asked abruptly.

Taichi took deep breaths of the (somewhat) fresh air. “I’ll be all right,” he said shakily. He leaned on the iron railing of the fire escape, his slim hands shaking a bit. Akutsu leaned his ass up against the railing and crossed his arms over his chest. He frowned down at the dark-haired man who’d been assigned as his partner. 

He wasn’t sure what to make of Taichi. The kid was so cheerful that there were times when Akutsu wanted to strangle him. Moreover, the little detective seemed to have some weird idea that he, Akutsu, was a deity or something. He had no idea how to react to the hero worship in the big brown eyes. No one had ever looked up to Akutsu before. Feared him, yes. Hated him – oh, definitely. Loathed him, most surely. But not looked at him like he was some sort of fabulous, wonderful guy, like he was someone who could do anything. Much to his disconcertion, that was exactly how his new partner looked at him. 

He had no idea why. He knew why the kid had been imported into the precinct in the first place, of course. To try to put a leash on Akutsu, whose out-of-control rages were legendary. And he’d had no choice but to partner the kid, for he’d been told outright if he didn’t, then he’d be kicked off the force. He was just too dangerous as he was, causing havoc and damage wherever he went. And being around the projector did seem to be having a good effect on him. It wasn’t that he didn’t get angry anymore – but Taichi seemed to be able to keep him from spinning out-of-control completely. Instead, he could now harness his anger and use it constructively. So, he had much to thank his little partner for, even if he would never admit that aloud. But Dan’s worshipful attitude toward him in return was just strange. Not bad, mind you. He found that, deep down, he rather liked it. But just plain weird. What was with this kid? 

Taichi straightened up a bit. He had more color in his face now – at least some color besides green, that was. “Feeling better?” Akutsu asked.

Dan nodded. “Hai, much better. Arigatou, Akutsu-san,” he said he said with a grateful, doe-eyed look at his partner. 

 

The grey-haired man sighed. “Well, that’s good. Didn’t need you hurling on my shoes,” he said scornfully. 

Taichi smiled. It was one of those sweet, dazzling smiles that did very peculiar things to something in the region of Akutsu’s chest. “I suppose we should go back in,” he said doubtfully, obviously not wanting to go back into that fetid apartment again. 

Akutsu shook his head. “There’s nothing more that you or I can do in there,” he said. “Nothing anyone can do, actually. We’ll just wait out here until that idiot Sengoku figures that out so we can go back to the station.”

Dan promptly leaned his back against the iron railing, mimicking Akutsu’s pose naturally. “Okay,” he said happily, grateful to leave such matters to his more forceful partner.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tezuka has a talk with an old friend, and Kaidoh thinks about his partner...

Captain Tezuka Kunimitsu looked at the beautiful woman sitting across from him at the restaurant table. She was smiling at him, her dark eyes crinkling up in amusement at the corners. “I don’t see what’s so funny,” he said rather stiffly.

She propped her elbows on the linen tablecloth and set her chin on her hands. “Of course you don’t,” she teased. “I’ve known you for how long, Kunimitsu-san?”

He considered this. “About six years,” he said musingly.

She nodded. “That’s right. And in all that time, I’ve never seen you react in quite this way to anyone else.”

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

She cocked her head a bit. “You really don’t know, do you?” she said, her red lips twitching a bit. 

At the confused look in his face, she couldn’t help herself. She burst out laughing. “You’re a darling person, Kunimitsu-san,” she said when she could speak again. “But you can be awfully clueless about some things.” She tapped a lacquered nail on the cloth in front of her. “I’ve seen your girlfriends and boyfriends come and go,” she began in explanation. “But none of them lasted for very long. You spend more time picking out shoes than you do choosing a new one. But for the last few months, every time that we get together, all you do is talk about him. So why don’t you just ask him out?”

He looked startled by her observation. Then a wary look crossed his face. “I can’t do that,” he said tightly.

She lifted an elegant brow. “Why not?”

He sighed. “Because I’m his superior, that’s why,” he replied. 

She chuckled. “Something tells me that he doesn’t think so,” she said shrewdly.

He ran a hand through his hair distractedly. “Probably not,” he conceded. “I strongly suspect that Detective Fuji Syusuke doesn’t think that ANYONE is his superior.” He sounded exasperated, which made her laugh again. 

“I think he’s cute,” she commented. 

His brows jerked up. “Cute?” he repeated incredulously. “That’s not a word I’d associate with him.” 

“Hmmm. Well, how about hot? Sexy? Desirable?” she said with a sly look at him.

He growled, “Try annoying, impossible, and irritating,” he countered.

Her eyes went half-lidded. “Mmm-Hmm. That’s why you’re so attracted to him, right?”

He glared at her through the lenses of his gold-framed glasses. He clearly wanted to tell her to shut up, but he was too well-mannered. She grinned. “Honestly, Kunimitsu-san, I just don’t see what the problem is here. Yes, he’s one of your detectives. But what the two of you do on your off hours shouldn’t affect your working relationship. Especially since he doesn’t take your orders NOW, so what would be the difference?”

He let out a deep breath. “You have a point,” he said tightly as he picked up his wine glass and sipped at it. “He’s just so…” he stopped, unable to come up with the right words to describe just how Detective Fuji affected him. He drove Tezuka completely up the wall, doing everything in his power to irritate and annoy the captain, until Tezuka was torn between wanting to kiss the telepath and shoot him. He’d been torn between those two basic urges for months now, pretty much since Fuji had been assigned to his squad. 

His friend looked at him compassionately. She understood that Tezuka was both attracted to his detective, and also driven to distraction by him. She considered this a good thing. She’d often thought that his other relationships were far too easy, that’s why they hadn’t lasted. Fuji would keep Tezuka on his toes. She loved the man as close as though he were her brother, although their relationship hadn’t always been so platonic. She’d been one of his first girlfriends in high school, in fact. But they’d found that they didn’t suit as lovers, and had decided to just be friends instead. And they were very good friends. They shared just about everything with each other, and an intimate discussion of their love lives was par for the course whenever they got together. She’d noticed a change in him almost right away, after a new detective had been assigned to his squad, and he couldn’t seem to stop talking about this man. It hadn’t taken her long to realize that Tezuka was rapidly becoming hung up on the telepath, which situation delighted her. It especially amused her to watch her friend being thrown into such a tizzy by his inability to control or corral the wild creature. 

Looking at the sternly-handsome man sitting across the table from her, she shook her head. He looked so conservative, so upright. No one would suspect, just by looking at him, that Tezuka was actually a bi-sexual with a taste for bondage and some of the other kinkier forms of sex. But then, he didn’t look like an esper, either. She’d been surprised in high school when he started to develop the ability to see into the near future, and she’d found this gift to be a bit creepy at first. But over time, she’d come to look at it as being akin to a person who was double-jointed or who could draw well. It was just another kind of talent. She even felt a bit wistful sometimes, wishing that she’d been born with a gift of her own, instead of just being a normal human being. 

Suddenly, he put a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes. She knew that gesture. He was having another vision. She waited patiently in silence for it to be done, knowing he’d be a bit disoriented for a few moments afterward. “What did you see?” She asked when he finally opened his eyes again.

He frowned thoughtfully. “I’m not sure,” he replied slowly. “It wasn’t very clear, I’m afraid. If it’s important, I’ll see it again. I tend to have a series of visions about the things that are going to happen in the immediate future. They should get clearer as they go along.”

“Okay,” she looked at her watch. “Listen, I’ve got to run. But I really think that you should take a chance. and make a move on that adorable little telepath of yours. Or do you really enjoy celibacy that much?” she jibed gently as she got to her feet. He got to his own as well, bowing a little to her as she prepared to leave.

 

“I’ll take what you’ve said into consideration,” he replied seriously.

She giggled, shaking her head again. “Silly man,” she said fondly, rounding the table to kiss his cheek. “Don’t think, just do. You’ll be better off,” she patted the same cheek, her dark eyes dancing, then breezed out of the restaurant with a last wave. He watched her go, a small frown still marring his handsome face.

At last. he sat back down at the table with a sigh. He finished his meal, his hazel eyes far off in thought. That parting shot of hers had hit very close to home. For some reason that he just didn’t understand, ever since Detective Fuji Syusuke had sauntered into the squadroom, he’d been uninterested in anyone else. It had been months since he’d had sex. This was hard on him, since he’d had a pretty fulfilling sex life before a certain very attractive telepath had come to work for him. Sometimes it made him want to tear his own hair out in frustration. 

Perhaps his friend was right. Perhaps he should just give in to the amazingly strong attraction between himself and Fuji, despite the fact that he was the telepath’s captain and titular leader. Titular because of the fact that Fuji only obeyed when he felt like it. The only reason that the telepath hadn’t been reprimanded or thrown off the force altogether was because he was very very good at his job, despite his general insolence and rule-breaking. He ran a hand over the tablecloth in front of him, imagining that its snowy-white surface was some other pale expanse altogether. He was sure that Fuji’s skin would be very soft, and would taste sweet. He could almost feel it under his fingers, since he’d imagined it often enough when he was masturbating. 

He was losing it. He knew that. Fuji was steadily driving him mad. Between all the little things that the telepath did to annoy him, and watching Fuji’s hips sway as he walked(he had a very sinuous stride), Tezuka knew that he’d be in bedlam soon if he didn’t do something. And what were his choices? Transfer Fuji(Which might not be that easy), or just give in and fuck the daylights out of the man? Those were his only two remaining choices, since he knew that he couldn’t go on as he had all these months. He was close to his breaking point. He had to make up his mind. 

He knew what he wanted to do. And it didn’t involve getting rid of Fuji, despite the fact that the telepath made him feel crazy sometimes. He wanted Fuji very badly. And he strongly suspected that the detective lusted after him in return, for he’d caught a look in those striking blue eyes over the last few months whenever he happened to catch the telepath staring at him. Which was pretty often, actually. He knew that look. Yes, Fuji wanted him. And he wanted Fuji. The only thing standing in the way of them just getting down and dirty together, was the fact that he was supposed to be Fuji’s leader. Which was patently ridiculous, since as his friend had pointed out Fuji wasn’t one for taking orders. 

He drummed his fingers on the tablecloth. He supposed that if he slept with Fuji nothing would change outside the bedroom. The telepath would still drive him crazy at work, doing whatever he felt like, and torturing Tezuka for his own amusement. But if you looked at it from another way – at least he’d be getting laid. And getting regular sex might mellow the telepath out a bit, too. Maybe. It was worth a try, anyway. 

He realized just then that he’d come to a decision. But how to go about it? He supposed he could just ask Fuji out on a date, but if he did that at work someone might overhear. He couldn’t afford to be accused of nepotism(And besides, most of his squad would never let him hear the end of it if they got wind of this). He’d have to think of some other way to approach the telepath. Maybe off hours? He had Fuji’s address, after all. He wondered idly what would happen if he just showed up on the telepath's front doorstep. Flowers in hand, turning on the charm…

He ended up laughing aloud, making the customers at the table next to him give him an odd look. While he might be many things, Tezuka was self-aware enough to know that he wasn’t exactly charming. Or seductive, for that matter. If it came to that, Fuji himself was far more seductive and charming. Naturally. It just seemed to ooze out the smaller man’s pores. Tezuka had found himself getting jealous, just watching the telepath interact with his fellow detectives. Not that Fuji did anything to attract any of them – he didn’t have to. All he had to do was walk around the squadroom, or talk, or even gesture. The man just breathed sensuality. It was one of the things about him that made Tezuka feel crazy. Sometimes he just wanted to drag the smaller man off into a maintenance closet, and screw his brains out right there in the police station. 

Well, now that he had decided to give into his attraction, he’d find a way to approach Fuji. He was both smart and determined when he wanted something. And he wanted Fuji Syusuke. In the worst way. He finished his wine and got up, leaving a tip for the waiter before he took the check off to pay it. He had some thinking to do. And he knew just the place to do it, where he could have some peace and quiet with his thoughts. 

 

 

Detective Kaidoh Kaoru jogged briskly through the park. He ran several miles every day to stay in shape, partially because his levitation skills took a lot of energy out of him. If he was in good shape it helped. He ran automatically, his thoughts far away. He scowled a little, his black brows gathering together, because his thoughts were not happy ones. They never were, not where his partner Inui Sadaharu was concerned. 

Like Inui himself, Kaidoh had no idea why he was so attracted to his partner. Inui was a true cold fish, which didn’t bode well for his skills in bed. And he had some REALLY annoying habits. Kaidoh especially hated the way the other man looked down his nose at his partner, as though Kaidoh were some kind of slug or other low-life creature. Made him want to punch Inui right in that aquiline nose. When he didn’t want to fuck his partner into the ground, Kaidoh wanted to pound his face in. These two diverging urges clashed with each other often. 

He turned down a dirt path that skirted the tennis courts. Brooding about his relationship(or lack of one) with the telekinetic was just foolish. He knew that. But that didn’t stop him from doing it. Inui was far too often on his mind, even when they weren’t around each other. He kept his breathing even as he started on his second mile. If he kept up the same pace for all two miles, he wouldn’t be tired by the time he finished. He’d only be relaxed and warm, all of his muscles stretched. He loved to run, almost as much as he loved to fly. And at least this form of exercise didn’t scare people like his levitation ability did.

Kaidoh didn’t care that he frightened others with his esper talent. If ignorant fools were scared of him, that was their problem. He had encountered the normal prejudice against espers that many of his colleagues had, but he just let it roll off of his back. Kaidoh didn’t really like people that much anyway, neither normals or other espers. He was in his own way a very solitary soul, despite the fact that he worked with an entire squad of other espers. People tended to aggravate him. Especially that damn monkey, Detective Momoshiro Takeshi…

Kaidoh couldn’t have said just why the teleporter bugged him so much. And Momo returned his dislike with interest, causing the two of them to snap and snarl at each other like angry dogs at every opportunity. Lieutenant Oishi had had to separate the two of them more than once when they’d come near to blows. Kaidoh knew that his own partner was disgusted by his running feud with the other detective, and that Momo’s partner Echizen Ryoma thought it extremely amusing. In fact, most of the rest of the squad found he and Momo’s squabbling to be entertaining. Like children on the playground, as Fuji had described them sardonically. 

Between his feud with Momo and his lust/hate relationship with Inui, Kaidoh often felt bedeviled these days. He snarled to himself as he finally reached the end of the path and began to slow his pace to a walk. He’d walk for half-a-mile to cool down, before he went home to start getting ready for work. Maybe his head would cool off, too, but he very much doubted it.


	7. Chapter 7

Lieutenant Sengoku did, indeed, figure out that there was nothing else that the espers could do at the crime scene. He gathered his squad and departed, leaving the forensics team with the unenviable task of trying to move a corpse that squished when they touched it. They’d need shovels to get this guy into the body bag, one of these poor souls noted in disgust. The espers themselves went back to the station, with the almost equally unenviable task of reporting to their captain that they might well have a powerful esper serial killer running around loose in Tokyo. 

 

 

The nightshift of the 8th Precinct Esper Squad came on duty, greeting each other as they filed into the squadroom. You couldn’t have told just by looking at them that there were so many seething tensions going on just under the surface. Captain Tezuka’s face was calm and composed as always, not giving away even a hint that he was strongly considering making a move on one of his detectives soon. His hazel eyes slid to Detective Fuji Syusuke’s pointed, elfin face only once, as he briefed his squad at the beginning of the shift. And Fuji did an equally good imitation of a basilisk; his face could have been carved from stone as he gazed at his Buchou, while leaning back against his desk negligently. But then, he still thought that Captain Tezuka was both straight and completely uninterested in him. Little did he know…

Oishi and Eiji stood close to each other, both feeling more than a bit nervous about Friday. Oishi because he was a straight guy who was going to have sex with another man for the first time ever, and Eiji because he feared that his pyrokenisis would get out of control and hurt his friend, in spite of the empath’s assurances that he could get out of the way in time if that happened. The redhead could never forget Makoto’s screams, and he knew that he’d wither up and die, if he ended up hurting his friend that way. Neither listened very closely to the briefing, as both of their minds were pretty far away in time and space. 

Momo stood with his arm draped over Echizen’s shoulders comfortably, the two friends both relaxed and happy after their tennis match earlier. Echizen had won, but just barely. Momo had given him a run for his money, and they’d greatly entertained the crowd that had gathered to watch their match. To look at Momo, one wouldn’t have thought that he had a care in the world. He hid his heart-sickness very well, much better than probably anyone else in the squad. It helped that he’d gotten to spend part of the day with Ryo, and hadn’t had to see the smug visage of that damned Atobe even once. 

Kinoko stood beside her partner, rather wistfully looking at the tall, sweet-face man who was listening so earnestly to what Tezuka was saying. She sighed, and her partner shot her a sympathetic look. Kawamura was just so oblivious! And in Japanese society, even more than in the West, it was not encouraged for the female to make the first move in a courting ritual. Kinoko wished that she could just jump on the healer and take him by storm, but her upbringing wouldn’t let her. Fuji had offered to talk to Kawamura for her, but she’d strictly forbade him to do so. She’d be too embarrassed and humiliated if it turned out that the healer wasn’t interested in her in return. And the worst thing about it would be that Taka wouldn’t be angry or upset; he’d be kind and gentle turning her down, and that would sting like trying to pick a bunch of nettles bare-handed. 

Inui and Kaidoh stood by their desk together – yet apart. Kaidoh’s arms were crossed over his chest, and he was scowling. There was a minute frown on Inui’s face, and he might have been on another planet, even though he was standing right next to his partner. The seething sexual tension between the two of them only contributed to their estrangement, for each in their own way was greatly disturbed by their attraction to the other. So all in all, it was an unhappy group of officers who came on shift that evening. And none of them suspected that when something finally gave, it would be all at once and wildly. This had all been going on for months, after all. Why would they suspect that it would change now?

 

It began with an armored car hold-up. The call came through about two hours after the squad had come on shift. They didn’t receive all of their orders from Tezuka; his visions weren’t always about potential crimes, and none of the other esper squads in the city had precognitives on their teams. So the squad mostly got calls just like the regular police force. A large gang of thieves had attacked an armored car making an after-hours bank run. This was clearly a well-thought-out crime by a group of professionals. They’d shot the guard who'd gotten out of the armored vehicle to transfer the money from the bank to the car, and had lobbed a gas grenade into the group of bank guards carrying the money out of the vault to the truck. This was the one point at which the money was vulnerable, because once it was in the armored vehicle there was practically no way to get at it.

The thieves were preparing to make a fast get-away with the loot when the espers arrived. The guard still in the car had called in the robbery, which wasn’t far from the police station. But the robbers weren’t taken by surprise; they’d expected some kind of police resistance, and had planned for just such a contingency. They began to shoot at the espers the moment the cars came to a stop, forcing them to crouch behind their vehicles while waiting for an opportunity to use their gifts. It wouldn’t be easy to effectively use their talents with a bullet in them. Eiji managed to pop up like a jack rabbit and roast one of the robbers with a concentrated stream of flame. The man ran into the street, screaming and flailing, a living column of flame that finally jerked to a halt and fell down on the concrete unmoving. 

Inui coolly ripped a fire hydrant from its moorings not far away, and hurled it at the head of another of the robbers. The man was dead before he hit the ground, his skull shattered. But this just made the other men more desperate, for it was clear that they weren’t going to be able to get out of this situation alive if they didn’t do something. They retreated behind the armored car, using it as a shield against any more of those nasty esper attacks. 

Momo looked at Echizen, who nodded. The teleporter set his hands on the smaller man’s shoulders, and they winked out. There was a small cry a moment later, as a surprised robber found two men standing right in front of him. He looked into the glowing gold-bronze eyes of the smaller man, and that was that. The two espers then disappeared as quickly as they had come, leaving the robber standing still like a statue on the sidewalk. Panic set in among the other as they realized that the two men could come and go with impunity, and so quickly that none of them would be likely to get an effective shot off at the espers before they winked out again.

In desperation the robbers charged out into the street. They sprayed bullets furiously at the esper squad cars, trying to distract or at least pin the espers down until they could escape. Crouched behind their squad car, Kaidoh growled. He hated being left out of the fight, and this cowering like a frightened animal infuriated him. Inui saw the movement out of the corner of his eye as his partner half rose up, and the telekinetic opened his mouth to tell Kaidoh to get back down. But before he could his partner sprang into the air and was gone, swooping like a hawk straight toward one of the thieves.

Inui cursed his baka partner, as he used his mind to rip the door off of a car parked not far away. He hurled this missile at a man taking aim at Kaidoh, crushing the bastard flat. Eiji was also effectively hampering the thieves from shooting at the man soaring through the air, and Kaidoh fell on one of the robbers furiously. His feet met the robber’s shoulders, driving the man to the ground. His head met the pavement with a dull smack that said that he most likely wouldn’t be getting up again, as Kaidoh soared upward once more and gleefully headed for yet another of the robbers with a ferocious light in his black eyes.

Momo and Echizen took out another of the men. Kinoko finished off three more by casually picking up a car and hurling it into a small knot of the thieves. There were only five of the criminals left, and they were beyond desperate. All but one of them. The leader of this little gang, seeing his plan go down the drain as his men were taken out, decided in cold fury that he was going to make these espers pay for ruining his beautiful plan. He set his sights on the only esper that he could do anything to – i.e., Kaidoh. The rest were out of sight behind the special bullet-proof squad cars, or were simply moving too fast like Momo and Echizen. As Kaidoh drove into yet another man, breaking the robber’s jaw with a single powerful punch, the leader calmly got down on one knee and trained his gun on the levitating esper. He ignored the fracas taking place around him, all of his senses trained on his target. And then he pulled the trigger.

Inui saw what was happening. He glimpsed the robber get down on one knee and point his gun at Kaidoh, who didn’t see the danger. He cried out a warning, even as he prepared to shield his partner. But he was too late on both counts. The gun went off, and the bullet smashed into Kaidoh in mid-air. He was wearing a bullet-proof vest, but the gun contained armor-piercing rounds that tore through the vest as though it were made of tissue paper. Inui cried out as his partner tumbled in the air – and then went limp and began to fall. He reached out with his powers, catching Kaidoh’s body and slowing its descent. His face was rigid with exertion and distress, as his partner settled on the concrete of the sidewalk as gently as a piece of thistle down.

That was the only shot that the leader of the gang managed to get off. A furious Eiji barbequed him a moment later, and the other four were also quickly taken out. Then the distressed espers converged on Kaidoh, with Kawamura at their forefront. The healer fell to his knees beside the wounded esper, his fingers pulling furiously at the bullet-proof vest that hadn’t helped. Kaidoh’s face was white and still, and a trickle of blood ran from the corner of his mouth. Eiji cried out, turning to bury his face in Oishi’s chest. The Lieutenant’s brown eyes were distressed, and he held his friend close as the waves of shock and grief from the others ran through him.

Even Momo, who loathed Kaidoh, felt sick to his stomach as he watched Kawamura tear the vest open and lay his hands on Kaidoh’s broad chest. A spreading blood stain had darkened the esper’s uniform shirt on his left side, just below the heart. A glow spread out under Kawamura’s fingers as he recklessly sent his healing powers into the body of his comrade. Kinoko was sobbing on Fuji’s shoulder not far way, as all the shell-shocked espers tried very hard not to imagine the worst. 

Inui stood very still, looking down at his partner’s slack face. The desperation in Kawamura’s face told the telekinetic that he didn’t expect Kaidoh to live. His partner was dying. Dying – and he’d never…his knees abruptly buckled, and he hit the concrete rather painfully. His arms folded across his chest, as he hugged himself as though warding off a deadly blow. He bowed his head. All of these months he’d spent avoiding Kaidoh’s advances, and putting the other man off…they could have had all that time together. And now there was no time left. He gritted his teeth as a scream forced its way up his throat, but wasn’t expressed aloud. He was a fool. He’d lost something he’d never really had, all because of his stupid fear and his desperate need for control over his own life. 

The ice sheathing Inui’s heart shattered into a million tiny pieces there on the sidewalk, and pain flooded him instead. He wanted to curse Fate, and himself; wanted to beat his head against the unforgiving concrete until he couldn’t feel any more. Little sobbing breaths hitched out of his chest, small animal sounds of distress forced out of his body by the almost uncontainable grief that swamped him. He didn’t cry, because some pain was too deep for tears. He was lost in a sea of misery, so lost that he almost didn’t hear Kawamura’s wearily hoarse voice say: “You’d better call an ambulance.”

His head jerked up, and he stared wildly at the healer. Kawamura was slumped down next to Kaidoh, his face white from exhaustion and overuse of his power. He could barely speak. “I’ve done what I can to stabilize him, but he needs surgery.”

Oishi ran off to summon an ambulance, while the rest of the squad sighed in relief and a lifting of fear. None of them noticed the fact that Inui was practically reeling on the sidewalk, disbelief and a burgeoning joy the only two emotions inside of him right now. The fact that the Fates seemed to have been kind enough to give him a second chance was blossoming in the telekinetic’s brain. He staggered to his feet, as Oishi returned with the news that an ambulance was on its way and would be there in a few moments. His hands were shaking as he lifted them slightly in front of him, and he was aware that his whole body was trembling. Distantly he watched as Kinoko and Echizen went to fetch blankets from the trunks of two of the squad cars, draping one over Kaidoh and the other over the bone-weary Kawamura. Reality wasn’t making much of an impression on Inui right now. 

When the ambulance arrived to take Kaidoh away to the hospital, Oishi turned to Inui. The empath could feel some of the emotions assailing the telekinetic, and pity welled up in him. “Inui,” he said gently, “Why don’t you go with him to the hospital? I’ll tell the Captain that I’ve taken you off-duty for the rest of the shift. Okay?”

Inui nodded numbly, walking over to the ambulance. Oishi spoke to the medics, talking them into letting Inui ride in the back with his partner. The telekinetic climbed into the ambulance, and it took off with a wail of sirens. The rest of the squad just looked at each other, as another set of wails indicated the arrival of the regular police force to mop up after the espers. Then Oishi and Momo helped Kawamura to him and Eiji’s squad car so that the redhead could take his partner home to rest. 

 

 

Inui didn’t like the intensive care wing of the hospital. It smelled like antiseptic and ill human bodies, and the floors were a dull off-white tile that made his eyes hurt. He sat in the rather hard chair beside Kaidoh’s bed, reading a very old magazine about sport fishing. The only sounds in the room were the beeps from the various machines that were monitoring Kaidoh’s vital signs. The detective’s body had so many tubes running into it that he looked like some kind of strange plant, and his upper chest was swathed in bandages. Only the even sound of his breathing was reassuring to Inui, telling him that Kaidoh still lived. That, and the steady beat of the heart monitor. 

It had been five hours since Kaidoh had gotten out of surgery. The bullet had lodged in his body just under his heart, nicking an artery. Fortunately, Kawamura had managed to repair the artery before Kaidoh bled to death internally. But the bullet had still had to be removed, a delicate operation that had taken three hours. After that, he’d spent more time in the recovery section. Inui had not been allowed to see him then, and had spent the time in one of the waiting rooms trying not to fret. 

Much as he hated the intensive care wing, at least he got to be with Kaidoh now. He wasn’t family, but the hospital was always happy to accommodate espers. It was not good to make an esper mad, not if you were a mere normal. He was very tired, and he knew that he should go home and get some rest. This chair wasn’t comfortable enough to doze in. But he also didn’t want to leave Kaidoh. He had a strange superstitious fear that if he left, his partner would die. So he stayed, rubbing wearily at his burning eyes.

He heard a small noise. Looking up, his green eyes widened when he saw that Kaidoh was looking at him. The black eyes were puzzled and tired, but aware. “Inui?” his partner croaked on a breath of sound. 

Inui rose to his feet and went to the bedside. He picked up one of Kaidoh’s hands, careful of the various shunts imbedded under the skin. “Yes, I’m here. Don’t try to talk too much,” he said gravely to the wounded man.

Kaidoh’s black brows contracted. “W-where?” he asked, his eyes trailing around the sterile white hospital room. 

“You’re in the intensive care wing at Tokyo General,” Inui supplied. “And lucky to be here, too, you idiot,” he added scornfully, the thread of joy in his voice nearly lost under what sounded like contempt.

Kaidoh blinked. “What?” he said, his question clear. 

Inui sighed. “One of those men we were having the fight with shot you,” he said. “And if you’d stayed behind the car that wouldn’t have happened,” he went on, scolding Kaidoh as though he were a child. Relief was making him act this way, when all he really wanted to do was hug Kaidoh close and thank his lucky stars that his partner still lived.

Understanding filled Kaidoh’s eyes. He turned his head away a bit, looking at the far wall. Waking up weak and in pain, knowing that this was all his own stupid fault – and having Inui scold him as well, in that contemptuous tone of voice – it was too much for him to take right now. In weary anguish, he closed his eyes and began to cry.

Inui was startled. He’d never seen Kaidoh cry before. He stared in shock at the tears slipping down his partner’s cheeks. He made a helpless gesture with his hands. “Kaidoh?” he said. “Why are you…? Please don’t…?” his voice was pleading. He didn’t know how to handle tears. Not on top of everything else that had happened. 

“Gomen,” Kaidoh said hoarsely, unable even to wipe the tears away because his hands felt too weak to lift to his face. 

Inui then did the only thing he could think of to stop those disturbing tears – he leaned down, bending over the bed, and took a hold of Kaidoh’s jaw. He turned his partner’s face back toward him, and then he thoroughly shocked the other man by softly kissing his mouth. This tactic worked, because Kaidoh forgot his upset when he was kissed by Inui. This was something he’d longed for for a long time, and his black eyes were bewildered when Inui finally lifted his mouth away. 

“Why did you do that?” he whispered.

Inui looked down at him. Although Kaidoh couldn’t see his eyes behind those thick glasses, he could see the small smile that moved over Inui’s mouth. “Because, my foolish fierce partner, I’ve wanted to do it for a long time. And almost seeing you die tonight…” he sobered. “Some things became clear to me. I’ve been stupid, Kaidoh. I resisted you because I was afraid that you’d change me,” at Kaidoh’s questioning look, he lifted his shoulders in a slight shrug. “It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that I want to be with you, and I know you want to be with me. So will you? I would very much like it if you would become my lover,” he said, in such a formal tone of voice that any other time Kaidoh would have laughed. But not this time.

 

He gaped at his partner for a moment, then his black eyes began to gleam. “If I’d known that it would take a bullet for you to ask that, I’d have stepped in front of one long ago.” He said.

Inui shook his head. "Don’t even joke about that,” he said sharply.

Kaidoh grinned faintly. “Who’s joking?” he replied. “But the answer is yes. Yes, Inui, I will become your lover.”

Inui took a deep breath partially composed of relief, then bent over the bed again. “Very well. I think that this occasion calls for a celebratory kiss,” he said, just before his mouth closed over Kaidoh’s once more.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akutsu and Dan are working on the new murder, but Akutsu gets impatient. Momo, meanwhile, rescues Echizen from his cheating boyfriend.

“This is boring,” groused Akutsu, glaring at the screen of his computer. Across their shared desk from him, Taichi peeped at his partner around his own monitor.

 

“It might be the best way to find out about this killer,” he pointed out in his high, light young voice. “Besides, Akutsu-san, it was really your idea,” he continued earnestly.

“I know,” snarled Akutsu, folding his arms over his chest as his glower deepened. That was why he was so pissed off about the fact that the entire squad had been ordered to check the computer records of all of the murders that had taken place in Tokyo in the past year or so, looking for anomalies. In a roundabout way, this had been his suggestion because he’d noted that this bastard must have killed before. Hoist on his own petard – and now forced to go through hours of dull records. His restless soul was in full-blown rebellion against this tedious task. 

“I’m leaving,” he said after a moment. “This stuff isn’t going anywhere. You want to come have a drink with me?” he added to his little partner as he surged to his feet.

Taichi’s big brown eyes got even bigger. Clearly he was torn between protesting Akutsu’s abrupt departure from their assigned task, and wanting to take his partner up on his offer of a drink. Finally he got tentatively to his own feet as well.

“I don’t drink,” he protested as Akutsu’s hard hand closed over his arm, although it was a fairly breathless one since the feel of that hand was making him rather giddy. He allowed his partner to begin to lead him out of the squad room tamely, since his brain had shut down almost completely except for the most basic functions. And even those weren’t working too well at the moment.

“Well, Danny boy, there’s a first time for everything,” Akutsu sneered, with a faintly lascivious tone to his voice that made his smaller partner shiver and break out in goosebumps. The two espers left the rest of the squad to their drudgery, getting while the getting was good.

 

The 8th Precinct Night Squad was short-handed tonight. Momo sat at his desk and tried hard not to stare at the empty chair across from it. A snarl moved over his mouth, and his purple eyes gleamed with anger. Damn that Atobe anyway! How he hated that wretched dilettante pretty boy. The socialite had come sweeping in at the beginning of their shift this afternoon,and requested Echizen’s presence at a party he was giving tonight. Tezuka might have protested, but Atobe’s family just happened to be one of the wealthiest in Japan. Whatever Atobe wanted, he got. Echizen had tried to protest that the squad was already short-handed with Kaidoh in the hospital, but his lover didn’t listen as usual. He’d herded the unhappy esper out the door, leaving Momo glaring after the tall, blue-haired man with thoughts of mayhem and violence roiling in his head.

Moodily he turned his eyes to the rest of the squad. Fuji was reading yet another book, as the telepath was a voracious reader who could practically speed read through all of the books he devoured. His partner Kinoko was frowning at her computer screen, playing that eternal game that she never could win at. Eiji and Oishi were playing Mah Jong, the redhead surprisingly winning by a large margin. Kawamura was carving something in a desultory fashion. He was still tired today, because he’d insisted on going to the hospital and doing another healing on Kaidoh. The esper would be out of the hospital in a much shorter time than normal because of the esper healer’s efforts, which would be good. Much as he didn’t like Kaidoh, Momo knew that his being out of action would hamper the squad to a certain extent.

Speaking of Kaidoh – his eyes went to the desk that Inui and the wounded esper normally shared. Inui was doing something on his computer, and Momo was once again struck by his expression this evening. When he’d come on-shift, the telekinetic had seemed far more relaxed than he normally was. And had that been an actual SMILE that’d he’d glimpsed on that normally coolly expressionless face? Momo found it hard to believe. Fuji had taken one look at Inui’s face, and had had to stifle a fit of laughter. When he’d asked the telepath what was so funny, Fuji had merely replied that it took some people almost dying to get others to come to their senses. His eyes had gleamed under his half-lids as he beamed at a rather puzzled Momo. 

It hadn’t taken him long to work out what Fuji was talking about. After all, the only one who’d almost died yesterday had been Kaidoh. And like everyone else, Momo had been aware of the sexual tension between the two espers. So, much as he didn’t like to even think about it, he realized that Inui and Kaidoh must have finally given in to their attraction to one another. And didn’t that make him feel jealous! That the eternally irritating Kaidoh was getting what he wanted, while Momo himself was still trapped in limbo where his own partner was concerned...It just wasn’t fair! 

He knew he was sulking a bit, but he couldn’t help it. Usually he could maintain his good nature, but at times like this - when he couldn’t be with Ryo because he was off with that snobby jerk - it tended to dissipate. He sat back in his chair and tried to sluff off his bad humor, but it just wouldn’t go. He knew that he’d probably be in a bad mood for the rest of this shift, knowing that Echizen was being paraded in front of Atobe’s wealthy friends like a trained fucking monkey. Visions of that fancy-pants bastard’s neck in his hands were peculiarly satisfying to Momo just at this moment. 

He reached out a hand to pet Karupin, who was sitting on the edge of the desk. Atobe hated the cat, so he remained here at the police station when the fluffy beast’s master was off with his wretched boyfriend. Atobe and Echizen didn’t live together; Ryo had his own apartment where he kept the cat. And the times that he slept over at Atobe’s fancy penthouse apartment, Echizen left his pet with Momo. The teleporter was happy to take care of Karupin, since he couldn’t do the same for the cat’s master. He and the silver furball were good friends. “I guess it’s just you and me tonight, pal,” Momo told the cat, who yawned, displaying the interior of his pink mouth. Then he butted his head affectionately against Momo’s hand. 

Momo’s cell phone rang. He pulled it off his belt, looking at the number. He was surprised but delighted to see that the call was from Echizen. He flipped the phone open and put it to his ear. “Hi, Ryo,” he tried to say as cheerfully as he could. “What’s up?”

“Momo?” the voice that came out of the phone was woeful. Momo could distinctly hear what sounded like a miserable sniff. 

He sat up straight in his chair. “Ryo? What’s the matter?” he said more urgently. “What’s wrong?”

“C-Could you come over here, Momo?” Echizen asked in a trembling voice. “I really need you right now. Please?”

Momo looked rather wildly around the squadroom. Just because it was quiet now didn’t mean that it would stay that way; if he left, the squad would be extremely short-handed. Tezuka would not be happy with him. But Echizen needed him…He saw Fuji look up, for a stray thought had gotten past his shields in his distress. The telepath set his book down and got up. He walked over to Momo’s desk, saying softly: “What is it, Momo-chan?”

Momo put his hand over the phone to speak to Fuji. “It’s Echizen. He says he needs my help. But I can’t leave, Fuji! Tezuka would have my hide!”

The telepath considered this. “Go,” he said firmly. “I’ll make up a good story for Tezuka and Oishi both. Go and take care of our Ryo, hmm? Quick, before you draw too much attention,” he made shooing motions with his slender hands. 

Momo leapt to his feet. “Arigatou, Fuji!” he said gratefully. 

“Hai, Hai. Go on,” the telepath watched with a small smile as Momo dashed out of the squad room as though his feet had been set on fire. He was already formulating lies to tell Oishi and Tezuka when they wanted to know where the esper detective had gone. When it was necessary, Fuji was one of the best liars ever born. He was hopeful that this middle of the night call was a good sign. The telepath knew that Momo adored Echizen; and he strongly suspected that the smaller detective might have feelings for his partner as well. The only thing standing in their way was Atobe, a man that the telepath loathed almost as much as Momo did. He hadn’t liked the few thoughts that he’d picked up from the haughty socialite. Not at all. :Here’s to hoping that he’s screwed the pooch where Echizen is concerned this time: Fuji thought gleefully. 

 

Momo drove rather recklessly through the thin traffic, to the shining silver tower that housed Atobe’s penthouse apartment. He ran into the lobby, then teleported right into the elevator before the guard at the desk could protest his presence. Momo hit the button for the top floor, cursing at the elevator for not going faster. He was worried about his partner. Why had Echizen sounded like he was crying? What had that bastard done to him? If Atobe had hurt him, Momo was going to twist that fucker into interesting new shapes. Finally, the elevator disgorged him on the top floor. He approached the single door,as the penthouse apartment took up the entire floor. Instead of beating on the door to try to get in, he simply teleported through it. He heard some cries as a man appeared out of nowhere into the midst of Atobe’s guests, but he ignored them.

He looked around, but saw no sign of his partner. He began to shove his way through the crush, still ignoring the cries and protests he garnered on all sides. Finally, he lost his patience and temper, however, for he still couldn’t find Echizen. He took a hold of one of the guest’s arms. “Have you seen Detective Echizen Ryoma anywhere around?” he asked brusquely.

The woman was clearly terrified of him. She nodded, pointing toward a hall way not far away. “I-I think he’s in the master bedroom,” she said.

“Arigatou,” Momo pushed past her and went toward the hallway that she’d indicated. The crowd parted before him as though he were Moses, although he also garnered some fascinated stares. Normals were always scared of but fascinated by espers, and he was used to this mixed reaction by now.

He found the master bedroom pretty easily. The door was cracked open, and he could just glimpse a huge bed right in the middle. There were two figures on the bed…He stopped in his tracks when he saw bare skin and a short head of bluish hair. Atobe, naked on his bed? With someone else under him? Gods! Ryo wasn’t having make-up sex with his boyfriend right here and now, was he? How embarrassing would that be for him! But there was something off and curious about the two intertwined people. Neither of them appeared to be moving. They looked rather like statues, in fact. Curiosity finally compelled him to go forward to the door.

It was, indeed, a naked Atobe on the bed. But the man under him had dyed-blonde hair, not dark green. And there was a look of shock on that bastard’s face. Momo began to realize just what must have happened, and rage on his friend’s behalf rose up in him. 

“Momo?” he heard Echizen’s voice say, and he turned to see his partner sitting rather forlornly in a chair beside the dressing table. The smaller esper’s face was wet, and his cheeks were red from the tears that he’d been crying.

“Ryo,” Momo hurried over to his little partner, kneeling down in front of him and taking Echizen’s slim hands in his own. “What happened?” he asked, although he could already guess.

Echizen sighed, his head bowing as he stared at the carpet. “I got a headache, so I told Keigo that I was going to lie down for awhile in one of the guest rooms. He said okay, and I got some aspirins and took a nap. But I woke up because I was already feeling better, and it hadn’t been more than a half-hour since I went into the room…so I got up and went to go find Atobe, but I couldn’t…and then I came in here to see if he was maybe fixing his hair or something…” he trailed off, his eyes rising to look at the naked men on the bed.

“Ahh,” Momo had a clear vision of what had happened now. Echizen had walked in on his boyfriend fucking someone else, confident that the esper was asleep and out of the way before he’d indulged in a spot of cheating. And Echizen had frozen both Atobe and his fuck buddy, probably instinctively out of upset and rage both. He had the sudden urge to get up, go to the bed, and boot Atobe in the head for doing this to Echizen.

Instead he patted the hands he held. “I’m really sorry, Ryo,” he said gravely. “What do you want to do now?” he continued seriously. He’d do whatever Echizen wanted.

“I…” the green-haired esper trailed off, meeting Momo’s purple gaze with his own bronze-gold eyes. “I’m leaving,” he said softly, jerking his head at the bed. “For good, this time, because while I’ve put up with a lot of shit from him, I won’t let Atobe cheat on me. But I don’t want to go back to my own apartment alone…” his gaze became pleading. “Not tonight, anyway. Can I come and stay with you, Momo?” he asked hopefully.

Momo smiled tenderly. “Of course you can, Pipsqueak. All you had to do was ask. So get up, get any of your stuff that you want, and let’s blow this joint, hmm? We’ll go back to my place and watch old movies together. And if you want me to kick a certain somebody in the balls on my way out, I’ll be happy to do that, too…”

Echizen actually giggled, which made Momo very happy. He shook his dark-green head as he rose from the chair and went over to the closet to get the clothes he habitually left at Atobe’s apartment. He didn’t intend to leave anything of himself behind here. “Nah, you shouldn’t kick a man when he’s down,” he quipped, which made Momo laugh. “Besides, I’ve got something better in mind,” he added wickedly as he piled his clothing up in his arms and then left the closet. At Momo’s curious look, he smiled tightly and said: “Wait and see.”

Momo did see, and guffawed heartily when Echizen strolled out into the party proper and said in a very loud voice: “There’s a new piece of artwork in the master bedroom that I’m sure Atobe-san would love you all to see. A very life-like set of statues that’s called ‘The Master At Work.’ I hope you all enjoy it.” then he walked out without a backward glance, with a grinning Momo at his heels.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akutsu and Dan have an interlude...then a meeting of the...minds...

“So, Danny boy,” Akutsu’s voice made his smaller partner look up at him from the flavored beer that he’d been sipping at. He didn’t much like the taste, so he’d only taken a few mouthfuls so far. His big brown eyes looked at his partner’s large form, which was draped over a chair as Akutsu downed a shot glass full of some clear liquid that looked like water.

 

“Hai?” he asked.

The grey-haired detective set the now empty glass down on the table in front of him, and gestured for the bartender to bring him another. He surprised Taichi by what he said next: “Tell me about yourself.”

Dan blinked. Akutsu had never shown any interest in him before, not in a personal way, that is. He scratched at his unruly black hair as he thought about what he should say. “Well, I’m from Kyoto as you know,” he began. “My parents still live there. They’re both espers, too,” he added proudly.

Akutsu lifted an eyebrow. “Oh? What kind?” he asked.

“My father is an empath, and my mother is an astral projector. That’s why I’m a projector, I think. Their two abilities just sort of combined in me.” He cocked his head. “Are your parents espers?” He asked.

Akutsu’s lip lifted. “I don’t know who my old man is,” he sneered. “So he coulda been for all I know. My mom raised me by herself. And she’s not an esper, that’s sure. She’s never known what to do with me, ” he added with a shrug. “It took them forever to realize that my rages were an esper talent, not just a hormonal imbalance or something.”

“That must have been hard for you,” Taichi said sympathetically. When Akutsu gave him a blank look, he spread his hands in front of him. “Having everyone misunderstand you. They all thought that you were just a bad kid or something, I bet. Instead of realizing that you were an esper who couldn’t help falling into these fits of rage.” His soft voice held a wealth of compassion. Akutsu was thrown off by it, as he was so often by his partner’s startling perceptiveness where he was concerned.

“Yeah, well, it was no big deal,” he replied, trying to shrug off the weird sensation that had run through his gut as he looked at those big, sweet brown eyes. Damn, if this kid didn’t sometimes seem to see right through him, something no one else had ever done before…or ever bothered to do, that is… 

He was glad when the bartender brought him another straight vodka. It gave him something to do with his mouth besides stick his foot in it. He gulped at the fiery liquid, then said, “Let’s not talk about that anymore. It’s boring.” He leaned forward and eyed his smaller partner speculatively. “Let’s talk about something more interesting. Tell me, Danny boy – have you ever had sex with anyone before?”

As he watched, a dark-red blush rose in Taichi’s cheeks. He looked down at the table, his slender fingers unconsciously caressing his glass of beer. “Hai,” he nearly whispered, the faint thread of sound reaching Akutsu’s ears. The grey-haired man frowned a bit, his brows contracting. Somehow he’d thought that Taichi would say no. The kid just seemed so innocent, so untouched by the world. A lance of some dark emotion shot through him, and he nearly snarled as he drank the rest of his vodka in one gulp. 

“Who?” he growled, although he knew it was none of his business. Right at this moment, he really didn’t care.

The smaller detective’s shoulders hunched under the lash of anger in Akutsu’s voice. “A professor of mine in college,” he managed to get out. “W-We did it a few times in his office…” he added.

Akutsu’s stare turned incredulous. This elfin-faced, big-eyed creature had fucked one of his professors?! He just couldn’t see Danny doing something that was against the rules. It amazed him. Suspicion rose up in him. There was something weird about this whole thing. “So you were a bad boy in college?” he said musingly. “Sleeping with your professor…tssk, Danny boy. I wouldn’t have thought you had it in you.”

He could clearly see that the smaller man’s fingers were trembling on the glass. “I…” something like shame ran over his face. 

 

That emotion startled Akutsu even more. His suspicious nature came even more to the fore. “So was he any good?” the grey-haired man asked, studying Danny’s bent head with narrowed old molasses eyes. 

Taichi fumbled with his glass, spilling beer all over the table. “He…I…” the bigger man could clearly see his partner biting his lip hard enough to make it bleed. Rage began to stir in Akutsu’s breast. He didn’t like to see his little partner become upset, and something about this memory was doing just that. 

“Danny,” his voice was almost gentle for him. The big brown eyes lifted to his, and he saw something like pain in their depths. He leaned forward a little, resting an elbow on the tabletop. “Did you have sex with him willingly?” Akutsu asked, his voice as hard as stone.

Taichi’s eyes somehow widened even more. Very slowly, he shook his head in a negative gesture. Black rage was now roiling in the grey-haired detective’s brain, and he knew that he’d be looking this professor up very soon. And then the man who had forced or coerced at least one of his students into servicing him, probably more – that man would learn new meanings of the word ‘pain’. For now, he continued tightly “Did you even enjoy it?”

Dan blinked. His eyes fell once more. “Not really,” he said sadly. “It hurt, and he…” his fingers were shaking again. Akutsu’s lips lifted in a silent snarl. That professor was just going to be a dark stain on the pavement once Rage was done with him. 

“Danny boy,” that gentle tone of voice was back. The brown eyes lifted again as Taichi peeped at him from under unruly black bangs. Akutsu held out a big hand. “Come back to my place with me,” he said commandingly. He intended to replace the bad memories he could see behind the boy’s eyes with something better. Much better.

Taichi chewed on his lip a little, as he stared at his partner’s proffered hand. Then he tentatively stretched out his own slim hand and took it. Akutsu got to his feet, hauling his partner up with him. “Let’s go,” he said brusquely, leading Taichi out the door of the bar by the arm. The smaller man went tamely, for despite his bad experiences nothing that Akutsu ever did or said to him scared him. He trusted the grey-haired detective utterly, and so he went out the door with Akutsu without demur.

 

Akutsu’s apartment was a surprise for him. It was ruthlessly neat, for one thing; and there was very little furniture. It was almost - austere. But as he stood in the living room, looking around, Taichi realized that this apartment reflected the real Akutsu. The one that lived under the mask. He was seething with curiosity, wanting to poke his nose into everything. But before he could move over to look at the collection of weapons on the wall, a pair of hard hands descended on his shoulders and turned him around.

He lost whatever rational thought he had, as he looked up into those wild animal eyes. They burned; burned with a flickering flame that made his stomach twist and his body tighten and flush. A small, twisted smile touched one corner of the grey-haired man’s mouth as he drew Taichi over to the futon couch, where he sat down. Then he drew a breathless Dan into his lap, because it would have been hard for him to kiss the smaller man standing up. Fingers threaded into unruly black hair, pulling Taichi forward. Then an equally hard mouth closed over his, and he moaned as Akutsu began to kiss him. 

Taichi was lost. Being kissed by Akutsu was a startling experience, like none he’d ever had before. That hard mouth moved almost tenderly over his, and after a moment a tongue slid into his open mouth as he gasped. His slim hands clutched at broad shoulders as he opened his mouth even wider, surrendering himself completely. Dimly he felt a hand slide up and down his back, before it settled on his ass and began to knead the cheeks lightly. He cried out into the kiss, his hips moving as he tried to rub himself against the other man’s larger frame. Fingers insinuated themselves under the waistband of his uniform trousers, stroking his bare flesh above his briefs as he shivered wildly. 

Akutsu finally broke the kiss so that they could both breathe. Danny’s face was already bright-red, his mouth open as he panted desperately for breath. Languid brown eyes made lust rise up in a surge within Akutsu. He’d never wanted to fuck anyone more than he did his little partner right now. But he would take this slowly. Taichi was worse than a virgin, and while gentleness was not normally a part of his nature, he knew that he couldn’t rush this. He didn’t want to hurt his partner either physically or emotionally. Danny had done too much for him. To repay the other man’s sweet kindness by damaging him further would make Akutsu a bigger asshole than even he could stand being. So he’d be as careful as he possibly could tonight. There would be time later for rough, hot fucking between them. 

His fingers lifted to start on the buttons of Danny’s uniform shirt. He looked up into dazed brown eyes as he pushed the plackets apart to bare a pale, lithely-muscular chest. He touched this expanse, and Taichi whimpered softly. “You’re awfully pretty, Danny boy,” Akutsu said darkly, drawing a moan from his partner’s throat. Then he cried out loudly, for hard pinching fingers had closed over one of his tiny pink nipples and was twisting it softly. A thumb swept over the now jutting peak, as Taichi threw his head back a bit and clutched frantically at his partner’s broad shoulders. “Like that, do you?” Akutsu growled, and the smaller man somehow managed to nod wordlessly. 

“Well, see how you like this then,” and before Taichi could react to this statement, the grey haired man replaced his fingers with his mouth. 

 

Danny nearly screamed as a warm, moist mouth closed over his nipple and began to tongue at it strongly. “Ohh, oh, Akutsu-san!” he cried, his fingers digging painfully into his partner’s flesh as he writhed in Akutsu’s lap. 

Akutsu chuckled against the skin of the smaller man's chest as he ran his tongue in a moist trail over to the other nipple. “Call me Jin,” he added, just before he began to torture the second nipple with little bites and long laps of his tongue. 

“Ahh! Jin-san!” wailed Taichi, his back arching into that relentless mouth. A pair of strong hands closed over his ass, cupping it as Akutsu continued to pleasure the writhing, squirming boy straddling his lap. It was a pleasurable torture for him as well, since Danny kept rubbing up against his crotch as he involuntarily moved. 

Finally, with a last long lick at the budded nipple, Akutsu lifted his head. He shoved a completely out-of-it Danny off of his lap, then sprang to his own feet. He scooped his swaying partner up in his arms easily and carried him into the bedroom. Akutsu lay Taichi down on his plain, dark-green bedspread, then proceeded to strip the smaller man of his clothing ruthlessly. His fingers revealed long, leanly-muscular legs, narrow hips, slim arms and a pretty, dark-red cock twitching and juddering between Taichi’s thighs. A sparse trail of curling dark hair ornamented this slender wand, as well as two tight little balls. Taichi lay passively under this stripping, panting and mewling. His upper chest, neck, and face were a bright red that stood out sharply against his pale skin. He looked good enough to eat – so Akutsu decided to do just that. 

He began at Danny’s neck. He cupped the fragile-looking jaw in his big hand and tilted it back, then began to defile the elegant length with kisses and bites. He didn't care in the least that Taichi would be sporting a trail of hickies tomorrow. It was clear that Taichi didn’t care about this, either, from the way he was crying out and writhing under Akutsu. His hands had risen to close over his partner’s arms in a death grip, and his cries and gasps were having a bad effect on the grey-haired esper's groin. He gnawed very softly at a jutting collarbone, and Danny wailed again for him. Akutsu ran his tongue along the same collarbone, deciding he liked that noise. He contented himself with exploring every bit of the soft pale skin of Taichi’s chest and stomach for now, working his little partner up into a frenzy. When he finally took Danny, he intended to make sure that the boy not only wanted this, but was so far gone that he felt no pain at all. 

He dipped a tongue briefly into Taichi’s belly button, causing the smaller man to gasp and then giggle a bit. “Oh, don’t!” he cried, then arched his back and cried out deliriously as Akutsu arrived at a jutting hip bone and suckled at it. Any fear that he might have had about this (and there hadn’t been much, not where Akutsu was concerned) was long gone. Everything was gone except for an agony of pleasure, which was slowly but steadily building up inside of him. He wailed in surprised ecstasy as that tormenting mouth enclosed one of his testicles and began to suck and mouth at it. His fingers spasmed, then flew down to settle in a shock of grey hair tightly. 

Taichi was going to come. Even though he hadn’t yet touched that pretty cock, the boy was ready to go. Akutsu decided to let him do so, since he knew that someone as young and healthy as Danny would be easy to excite again afterward. So he lifted a hand and closed it around Danny’s erection, pumping it as he suckled on his partner’s balls at the same time. It only took about three strokes before Taichi screamed and came all over Akutsu’s hand, his whole body tensing in ecstasy as he climaxed. 

Akutsu released the shuddering cock and sat up for a moment. He looked down at his panting, limp partner, who lay on his bed with those big brown eyes closed. He grinned faintly as he rose to his feet and began to undress himself in a leisurely fashion. The grey-haired esper tossed his clothes toward the hamper, not really caring if they made it this time. Once he was naked, he padded over to the dresser to fetch the tube of lubrication that he kept there. Despite his frequent rages(or perhaps because of them, since both men and women were attracted to the bad boy) Akutsu got laid often. He returned to the bed to find that Taichi’s brain was finally returning from whatever orbit that it had taken up when he orgasmed. The brown eyes were flickering open, their depths languid and soft.

“You ready for more, Danny boy?” Akutsu asked with a faintly sinister smile. The smaller man blinked, his brain still not working very well yet.

Akutsu snickered as he crawled onto the bed. Not waiting for an answer, he rolled Danny over and laid a kiss across the boy’s nape. Taichi made a small sound that was almost one of pain, but not quite. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of these touches on his over-sensitive skin. Akutsu’s hands slid down his back, ending up at the small tight ass. He stroked and kneaded the cheeks, even as he bent over and began to kiss his way down Taichi’s back. His tongue stroked each vertebra in turn, and Danny mewled helplessly even as he squirmed under these caresses. He might have tried to get away from something that was almost uncomfortable, expect for the fact that it also felt good. 

Akutsu reached the small of his back. He bit gently at the top of one firm buttock, and Danny squealed and wriggled even more. But this only rubbed his hardening cock against the bed spread, which did nothing but make his body surge back to life again. His fingers buried themselves in the spread, as he instinctively thrust back toward those wonderful caresses that were almost too much to take. Almost. And then he felt hard fingers parting his buttocks, and his eyes widened in shock as a tongue traced its way between the cheeks and swirled over the puckered skin of his anus. “Jin-san!” he shrieked wildly, his hips lunging off the bed desperately. “Oh, no, don’t! Ahhh!!” 

His last incoherent scream came as Akutsu’s tongue lazed into his body and began to move within him in a manner designed to literally blow his mind. He couldn’t believe how good this felt! He hadn’t known…he couldn’t take it…he was going to die of pleasure…and each movement meant that his cock was stimulated against the fabric under him. He collapsed in a panting heap as his partner finally withdrew that wondrous, amazing tongue with a final lick at his twitching asshole. Then he whimpered as a slick finger slid inside of him instead, not a sound of pain. That finger twisted slightly, stretching him, and that felt good too. His cheek rested against the bedspread as he cried out softly, unable to do anything else or speak. 

There were two fingers moving in him now. Akutsu bent over his back to whisper in his ear: “You ready for me to fuck you, Danny boy?” in such a sexy tone of voice that he thought his head would explode. He made a sound of agreement, not coherent enough to actually say the words. He heard a deep laugh as yet another finger scissored into him, and felt only a faint sting. “Soon, I promise,” Akutsu growled, and Danny trembled under him.

Something slick and smooth, and much bigger than those three fingers, butted up against the puckered ring between his ass cheeks as Akutsu positioned himself over the prone boy’s body. Holding himself up on his forearms, the grey haired esper looked down on his partner as he began to prod at the opening with the head of his cock. Swiveling his hips a bit, he took his time and used only gentle pushes. Finally the head breeched the ring, and Danny made a choked noise under him. Akutsu stilled, patiently waiting. “Does it hurt?” He asked. Taichi shook his head slightly. It burned, but it didn’t exactly hurt. He just felt full, and invaded by the size of the thing pushing into his body. But still…He wanted more. That message must have been conveyed to Akutsu, who pushed forward a bit more. Slowly but surely he worked his way into the tight body under him, relished the way those clinging internal muscles closed around him.

Finally, he was fully seated within Taichi. Akutsu lowered his torso a bit so that he way lying atop Danny but not crushing him, and tilted his head so that he could lick a trail along a shell-like ear. Taichi whimpered again, finding that he liked being caged under Akutsu’s powerful form. He felt enclosed, claimed, as though he were an animal being covered by its mate. He mewled, as his grey-haired partner began to suck rather roughly on the nape of his neck. His slim hips lifted as he asked for the movement his body was starting to crave, and then he cried out in relief and pleasure as Akutsu gave him what he was asking for.

Akutsu began with slow, small thrusts. As Danny’s body opened up for him, he lengthened his strokes into powerful pushes. He varied these with quick, sharp jabs into the smaller form lying under him, and Danny’s gasping, breathless cries of pleasure told him that he was hitting the right spot almost every time. Each movement of his hips drove Taichi’s cock into the bed under them, and he was caught between these two pleasures as each stroke pushed him higher and higher. He beat his head against the soft bedspread, and his fingers were bloodless where they clutched at it. Akutsu’s mouth suckled at his ear, when the bigger man wasn’t whispering into it things like: “You’re so tight, Danny boy. You feel so good around me. I could fuck you forever.”

Danny could take no more. He was burning up, lost in a sea of pleasure. Sensing that his smaller partner was about to come, Akutsu withdrew abruptly. Taichi cried out in a despairing plea. He’d been so close! But then he was flipped over on his back, and his legs were spread wide. Akutsu surged into him once more, making his back arch as he cried out deliriously. “Open your eyes, Danny boy,” growled that familiar voice, and he did so to see his partner reaching down between his legs to grab his cock. 

With a shark-like grin, Akutsu gave him minute butterfly thrusts even as the grey-haired man began to stroke the dark-red cock he was holding in his hand. Danny gasped, unable to breathe, unable to see, his hips surging as he felt his climax coming upon him once more. Without the driving pushes to distract him, he could concentrate on the feel of that hand moving on his erection. And he still felt Akutsu within him, he was so full…His partner said throatily. “Come for me, Danny boy.”

“Oh, Gods!” Taichi shrieked as he did just that. He came and came, for what seemed like an eternity, his whole body shuddering as his semen spurted out over that caressing hand and his own white stomach. When it was finally over, and he collapsed back on the bed spent, he barely felt it when his partner began to move more strongly within him once again. He heard Akutsu groan, and he felt that cock moving in him; but then his partner pulled out once more, tore off the condom he was wearing, and came all over Danny’s body as well. His head went back a little, and his powerful form shimmered with sweat. He was, in that moment, the most beautiful thing that Taichi had ever seen.

Akutsu slumped a bit in the aftermath. His crazy eyes opened, and he looked down at the boy sprawled on the bed in front of him. “Was it good for you, Danny boy?” he asked lazily as one of his hands stroked his own stomach. 

The smaller man nodded silently. There were no words to actually encompass how that had felt. But he wasn’t surprised that it had been so good. Somehow, from the moment he’d looked into those old-molasses eyes, he’d known with a certainty that Akutsu would take care of him. That he could trust the other esper with everything, even his soul. He smiled, a tired nearly beatific smile. He couldn’t wait to give himself over into those strong hands again…and again…and again….


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Momo and Echizen hang out together.

Hi, guys!” a cheerful voice crowed to the 6th Precinct Esper Day Squad, who were just coming on-shift. Lieutenant Sengoku found himself staggering a little as a hand slapped him on the back in a friendly (albeit very hard) manner in greeting. He whirled around, and his bright blue eyes widened, even as his jaw dropped nearly to the floor. 

“How’s it goin’?” enquired Detective Akutsu Jin, also known around the precinct as Rage. He grinned at the shocked Sengoku, as he strolled into the squadroom with his hands in his pockets.

He was followed by his partner Detective Dan, who the orange-haired man noticed was limping slightly, and had a very dreamy expression on his face. His eyes switched back and forth from the overly-cheerful esper to the obviously extremely happy one, and he said: “Uh-oh,” aloud as the entire squad stopped in their tracks to gape at Akutsu. 

Sengoku grinned, as his brain finally restarted. He looked like a deranged trickster as he smirked at Akutsu, who had walked over to a flustered Nitobe and was punching the detective on the arm in a friendly manner, as he asked after Nitobe’s health. The poor detective looked like he wanted to flee in terror from this changed Akutsu, and Sengoku burst out laughing even as he hightailed it to the door of the Captain’s office. He knocked briskly, hearing an annoyed voice say from within: “Come.” 

Sengoku pushed the door open and entered the office.”Hey, Cap!” he caroled, still with a maniacal grin on his face. “We got a problem,” he said in satisfaction, smirking once again at the thought of leaving this one in Minami’s capable hands.

This was better than the circus, he mused as the captain looked up from the report he’d been reading and gave his orange-haired lieutenant an irritated look. “What is it?” Minami asked brusquely.

Sengoku chuckled. “You’ll have to see it to believe it, Cap,” he replied merrily. He made a ‘come here’ gesture with one hand. 

The Captain rose to his feet, with an expression on his face that said quite clearly that Sengoku was going to be very UNLUCKY if he were annoying his superior with trivial matters. The orange-haired man almost howled with laughter as his buchou rounded the desk and came to stand at the doorway with him. Sengoku got out of the way, then pointed silently to Akutsu. The grey-haired esper was chattering away at Nishikiori, who looked as though he were considering hiding under his desk. Minami’s eyes widened as he watched his detective, taking in the uncharacteristic cheerfulness that Akutsu was displaying. 

Sengoku took great pleasure in moving his finger to point at Dan instead. The smaller esper was standing by hi m and Akutsu’s desk, a look of near-pure bliss on his pointed, elfin face. The lieutenant didn’t feel that he needed to say anything else to convey the situation to his superior, and he was right. Minami groaned in the back of his throat, a sound of pure horror. The orange-haired man suppressed a fit of giggles as he asked: “What do you want me to do, Cap?”

Minami shuddered painfully. “Send Detective Dan in here,” he said grimly. Sengoku nodded happily as his captain retreated back to his desk, an expression on his face that made the lieutenant wish that he had a digital camera on him to freeze this perfect moment in time forever.

Sengoku strolled back out into the squad room and over to the desk where Dan still stood. He touched the younger man on the shoulder, and the little detective started and blinked up at him. It was clear to Sengoku that he wasn’t really in the room at the moment. He grinned widely as he said: “Captain Minami would like to see you in his office, Detective Dan.” 

Dan’s brown eyes widened. He’d never been called into the captain’s office before. “Don’t worry yourself, kid,” Sengoku assured him. “You’re not in trouble. Get going,” he made shooing motions with his hands, and Taichi reluctantly began to walk toward the office. Watching him limp away, the lieutenant finally succumbed to the fit of giggles that he’d been keeping in. Some days, he thought to himself, were just very lucky days for him indeed.

 

Danny hesitated in the open doorway of Minami’s office. He wondered if he should clear his throat or knock at the frame or something, for Minami appeared to be busy with a report he was reading. But the captain looked up after a moment and saw him standing there. He sighed as he set the report down on the desktop. “Please come in and shut the door, Detective Dan,” he said. “And have a seat,” he added as Danny did as he was told. 

The small man sat down gingerly in one of the hard chairs on the far side of the captain’s desk, the care he was taking making the grim look on Minami’s face deepen. He SO did not want to have the conversation he was going to have to have in the next few minutes. When those big, anxious brown eyes met his across the desk, he folded his hands in front of him and steeled himself to speak. “Detective,” he began in a strangled voice, “I would normally never ask you this question, because your personal life is none of my business. But in this case, I have no choice. Detective Dan…did you and Detective Akutsu have…ano…sexual relations before you came to work today?”

His words made Taichi's eyes widen, even as a dark blush rose in his face. Minami himself had a faint red stain on his cheeks, and had to struggle not to squirm uncomfortably in his chair. “Please answer the question,” he choked out desperately. “It’s important.”

Taichi nodded almost imperceptibly, his face now the color of an overripe tomato. He looked like he was going to faint if this conversation continued much longer. Minami wasn’t handling it much better himself. The things he had to do as captain of this squad… “Okay,” he said. “That’s what I thought. The reason I’m even asking this is because of the way that Detective Akutsu is acting right now. He’s…well…HAPPY. WAY overly happy, in fact. And this is a guy nicknamed ‘Rage’ around the precinct. What’s worse, his esper abilities center around his anger. If he can’t get angry, he can’t use his powers. And that could endanger both himself and the rest of the squad. The only reason I can think that could be the cause of this is you, Detective Dan. Because you two…Etto…had intercourse not long ago, you’re – shall we say - in a very good mood right now. Plus, your shields would have dropped when you…that is….”

His face darkened as his blush also deepened. “So you’re projecting very strongly right now,” he managed to get out. “And it’s affecting Akutsu, who was already more mellow because of…umm…hormones,” he said, wishing his could just stop talking and find a hole to crawl into instead. “So all I’m asking is this. You and Detective Akutsu are free to do whatever you want when you’re not on duty. But please don’t indulge in sexual intercourse just before you come on shift anymore. Is that understood?" He asked, hoping desperately that it was so that he could end this conversation. 

Taichi nodded. He did, indeed, understand. He couldn’t speak, for a wave of mixed embarrassment and horror was rising up in him. To have his captain not only notice what he and Akutsu had been doing not long ago, but to have the man actually speak to him about it! While he understood why his buchou had to have this talk with him, he wanted to sink through the floor and disappear.

Minami nodded as well. “Good. That is all, Detective Dan,” he wanted the esper out of his office as badly as Danny wanted to go. The smaller man jumped up from his chair and scurried out, mortification written in every line of his slim body. Out in the squad room, he saw his partner scaring yet another set of his fellow detectives with his cheerful chatter. Taichi hurried over to try to lure Akutsu away to their desk, vowing that no matter how much the grey-haired man wheedled, they were never having sex just before they came to work ever again. He simply wouldn’t be able to stand another session with his captain, and he suspected that Minami wouldn’t survive another such interview, either. 

 

 

Momo awoke with a start, to early afternoon sunlight streaming through the windows of his apartment. He felt a weight on his shoulder, and when he looked down he saw a dark-green head resting there. He and Echizen had watched old movies together, and must have fallen asleep on the couch. Sometime in the middle of the night, his partner had snuggled up to him like a puppy. He smiled, liking the feel of Ryo’s smaller body pressed against his own. He wasn’t going to complain about waking up like this, no siree. Never mind that his arm had gone numb, he just didn’t care. 

He lifted the arm that still worked to softly stroke the silky dark-green locks of the head snuggled on his shoulder. How he wished he could wake up like this every day for the rest of his natural life. He bent his head and planted a kiss on the forehead of his smaller partner, and Echizen stirred a bit. “Wake up, fair sleeper,” Momo murmured to him. “We gotta go to work in about six hours,” it was Thursday, which was the Friday for the 8th Precinct Night Squad. 

Ryo stirred again. His big bronze-gold eyes slid open, and he stared up at Momo sleepily until his brain started working. Then he smiled a little. “Hi, Momo” he said.

Momo grinned. “Hi, yourself. You ready to get up? I’ll make us lunch.”

Echizen pushed himself up a bit, yawning, and one hand lifting to rub at his head. Momo already regretted the loss of that warm little body against his own. “Great, I’m starving,” his partner mumbled.

Momo jumped to his feet. “Pancakes okay? I’m feeling in the mood for breakfast even if it is after lunch.”

“That’ll be fine.” Ryo paused, then looked up at him seriously. “Momo,” he said quietly. When his taller partner glanced at him, he said intensely: “Thanks for everything, Momo.”

Momo rubbed the back of his neck. “What are friends for?” he replied good-naturedly. “You’d do the same for me, I know. So don’t worry about it. Go take a shower while I get breakfast started.” He disappeared into the kitchen, and Echizen heard cupboards opening and pots and pans clashing.

 

He sat back on the couch and looked at the t.v., which they’d left on. It was showing a game show right now. Echizen sighed. He knew that the tears of last night had been more from anger rather than pain. Anger at himself, for wasting almost two years of his life on a relationship with someone as worthless as Atobe. And anger at that vain, arrogant socialite for thinking that he could cheat on Echizen with impunity. While that had been the last straw, the truth was that he hadn’t been happy with Atobe, or with their relationship for some time now. He just hadn’t gotten out of it because he hadn’t wanted to be alone. Even Atobe was better than that. Or so he’d thought, until he’d walked into the bedroom last night and seen his former boyfriend humping another man. 

So it would be just he and Karupin again now. He bit his lip slightly. He had no intention of getting into another relationship so soon after the last one, and besides he…his ears caught the sound of singing coming from the kitchen, and he couldn’t help but smile. The real reason for his reluctance to even consider getting another boyfriend was in his kitchen right now, making pancakes while he sang a JPop song. 

Echizen had been attracted to his partner pretty much right from the first moment that they’d been assigned together. But there were two problems, or had been – now there was only one. The first had been that he’d been with Atobe already when he first got Momo as a partner, and the second was that the tall, purple-eyed esper had never shown any interest in being anything but good friends with Ryo. So while he would much rather have been with Momo, Echizen had accepted Atobe as an alternative. Not a very good alternative, to be sure - but still better than nothing. Now he and the socialite were done for good, but he still had that second problem to deal with. He hesitated to just ask Momo outright if the other man could ever like him as more than a friend. What if his partner said no? It would destroy both their friendship and their partnership, and he couldn’t stand that thought. So he’d stay silent, and be happy with what he had. He sighed again at this thought and got up to go take a shower. 

Momo puttered around his kitchen, whipping up pancakes and scrambled eggs for himself and his little partner. He heard the bathroom door close as Echizen went to take a shower. He stirred the pancake batter in the bowl, a small frown on his face. So his partner was finally done with Atobe, for good this time he was sure. But that didn’t mean that he could make his move now. Echizen was on the rebound, and Momo didn’t want to be his rebound relationship. So he’d bide his time some more, and hopefully in a few months Echizen would be ready to go out with someone else. He could only pray that that someone else would be him and not another guy altogether. He felt depression swamp him at the very thought. He’d waited so damn long! If Ryo got another boyfriend, he didn’t think he could stand it. 

All he could do now was be supportive without being pushy, he decided. He’d give Echizen a shoulder to cry on and an ear to bend, and perhaps his friend would turn naturally to Momo when his heart was finally free once again. Where there was life, there was hope, right? He turned on the pan and began to heat it so that he could cook the pancakes. He made a mean pancake, if he did say so himself. He decided to enjoy his friendship with Echizen, and not to worry anymore about a future that he could do nothing about right now.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fuji and Tezuka set up a date

The last day of the 8th Precinct Esper Night Squad’s working week was very peaceful. It seemed that no one was committing crimes tonight in the city. Momo and Echizen arrived at work to find that in the end Fuji had outright told Oishi what had happened, counting on the empath’s good nature and kindness to help him make sure that Momo didn’t get into trouble for leaving work in the middle of his shift. His instincts had been right, for Oishi had covered for Momo, coming up with various excuses for his captain why the esper wasn’t in the squadroom. It turned out that the lieutenant was a pretty fair prevaricator himself, and if Tezuka was suspicious there was no way that he could prove anything.

Momo thanked him fervently, which made Oishi smile. “Just try not to let it happen again, Momo-chan,” he replied softly. “I was sweating the whole time. Besides,” he added with a grimace. “I hate lying to Tezuka. I always feel bad about doing it.”

Momo nodded swiftly. “Thanks again, Oishi, I owe you one. And so does Echizen,” he continued.

The empath shook his brown head. “As long as Echizen’s okay, you don’t owe me anything,” he replied. "We take care of each other, right?” He said as he touched Momo’s arm.

The purple-eyed esper beamed at his lieutenant. Oishi was a really good guy. “That’s right. If you ever need anything from me, though, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“I’ll be sure to do so,” Oishi said with another smile before he walked over to talk with Eiji.

The redhead was so nervous that he was practically jumping out of his skin. Tomorrow was Friday, the day he’d designated that he and Oishi would have sex. The lieutenant lightly touched his friend on the arm, and the red-headed esper nearly went through the roof. “Relax, Eiji,” the empath said soothingly. “It’ll be fine, you’ll see. Will you come over to my place at about four o’clock?”

Feeling hoards of butterflies fluttering around in his stomach, Eiji nodded silently. Tomorrow would see his life change either for good or for ill, so of course his nerves were on edge. He wondered how Oishi could be so calm about the whole thing. What he didn’t know was that his friend was simply a better actor than he was, and was concealing his own natural anxiety so as not to make the firestarter’s any worse. When Tezuka came out of his office to give them their nightly briefing, both men were glad for it. It gave them something to concentrate on besides tomorrow. 

Kinoko was staring at Kawamura again. The healer still looked tired, for he was giving Kaidoh healing sessions every day to speed up his recovery. The esper detective would be out of the hospital by Monday at the latest, because of Taka’s efforts. Kinoko wanted to go over and touch the healer, to massage his shoulders and forehead with her abnormally strong fingers. She lamented her own reticence, for Kawamura needed someone to take care of him. He drove himself too hard when someone was hurt, and he should have someone to stop him from damaging or crippling himself by constant overuse of his powers. She wanted to be that someone, so very badly. 

Fuji glanced at his partner’s face, reading her accurately as usual. The yearning in her dark eyes was very clear. Taka was the most clueless creature alive, the telepath thought in fond exasperation. He couldn’t see what was right in front of his nose, and Fuji didn’t know what to do to rectify the situation. He’d considered the truly evil step of pretending an illness, and while Kawamura’s shields were down as he did a probe inserting a thought into the healer’s head about Kinoko. But that was manipulative, and would be unfair to Kinoko in the long run. She wanted Kawamura to like her for herself, not because he’d been subtly brainwashed by her telepathic partner.

While he was watching his partner, he again missed a pair of sharp hazel eyes watching him in turn. Tezuka gave his nightly speech coolly, and with no show that there was any thought on his mind besides the business at hand. He certainly gave no indication that he had made up his mind about Fuji. But he had. Tomorrow he intended to go and see a certain telepath at home. But no hint of these thoughts were on his face, as he finished up and retreated back into his office like a hermit crab returning to its shell.

The night passed so uneventfully that Echizen fell asleep with his elbow on their desk and his head resting on his hand, while Momo played solitaire in a desultory fashion. Inui worked on some private research, for now that the drama with Kaidoh was over he had remembered the odd anomaly he’d discovered in the data on murders in Tokyo. Fuji was reading a dirty book with relish, with Kinoko reading over his shoulder. Kawamura had also fallen asleep at his desk, and no one disturbed him. In fact, his partner Eiji slipped away to fetch an emergency blanket to cover him up with, before he left the exhausted healer to his slumbers. 

Eiji himself was too wound up to play card games or anything that required concentration or a working brain. He finally resorted to taking a walk around the police station, and jogging up and down the fire stairs to try to work off some of his nervous energy. Oishi leaned back in his chair at his own desk, with his arms crossed across his chest and his brown eyes far away. He was trying hard not to think about tomorrow, but he couldn’t help himself. He kept making plans in his head and then discarding them. He wanted to make this interlude as good for Eiji as he could,because he knew how nervous and worried the firestarter was about it. Making these plans actually helped with his own nervousness, as he could put his mind to productive thoughts rather than thinking about how many ways he might screw this up.

Finally their shift ended. The espers gratefully departed, Echizen with Karupin in his arms. He was going to sleep at Momo’s apartment again. Eiji looked at Oishi. "I’ll see you later," he said, and Oishi nodded silently. He watched the red ead walk away, and his fingers curled up into his sweaty palms.

Inui left to go get some sleep, before he got up to go see Kaidoh in the hospital during visitor’s hours. Kinoko cast one last wistful glance at Kawamura, before she left to take Fuji home. The telepath never drove if he could help it, ashe got too distracted by the thoughts filtering in through his shields to be able to pay enough attention to the road. Oishi would take Taka home, because the healer didn’t have a car, either. He rode a bike to work generally, which the lieutenant intended to put in the trunk of his car.

Tezuka was the last one to leave. He exited his office, which now became the day-shift captain's. He intended to go to bed, to get some rest before he went to Fuji’s apartment to talk to the telepath. He wasn’t sure how much sleep he’d actually get, since he was pretty wound up. But he knew that if he were exhausted and sleep deprived, he wouldn’t be very eloquent when he talked to a certain blue-eyed telepath. He wanted to be on the ball as much as possible, since even dealing with Fuji normally was like trying to walk on black ice. Having the discussion he intended to with the other esper would be much, much worse. Like walking naked through a field of nettles.

 

 

Fuji was curled up in the large, comfortable armchair in his living room when his doorbell rang. He’d been half-reading, half-dozing. The telepath liked to nap in this chair, as it was amazingly comfortable. The slim man sighed as he sat up and set his feet on the floor. It was probably just someone trying to sell him something. He would be wasting his time going to the door to tell whoever it was that he didn’t want to subscribe to magazines or buy pots and pans from a catalogue. Fuji walked into the narrow hall leading to the front door, calling in irritation: “I’m coming!” as whoever it was knocked again on his front door. 

He jerked the door open, glowering. “What is it…?” he began, then his mouth dropped open and he stood in stunned silence. His blue eyes opened wide as he stared at the vision of Captain Tezuka Kunimitsu standing out in the hall. “Uhhh,” was all he managed to say. Never in a million years would he have expected his superior to show up on his doorstep. He’d been taken completely by surprise for once.

Tezuka found his faint nervousness draining away in amusement at the expression on Fuji’s face. For once he’d shocked the telepath rather than the other way around. “Good afternoon, Detective Fuji,” he said quietly. “May I come in?”

Fuji somehow collected himself enough to say distractedly: “Of course, please do,” as he stepped back away from the door. His breath left his body in a rush as the taller man brushed by him, so close that he could feel the heat coming off of Tezuka’s body. Or at least he imagined that he could, anyway. “Please come into the living room,” the telepath managed to say without stuttering, a victory for him. He led the way down the hall and into the room he’d just vacated. “Would you like to sit down?” he asked, awkwardly motioning at the couch.

“Hai, Arigatou,” Tezuka sat down, and Fuji noticed distantly that his posture was as upright as ever. Did the man ever relax? 

“Can I get you something to drink?” these standard pleasantries made the telepath feel weird. Saying them to his captain, the man he’d lusted after and loved from a distance for so many months, just felt really odd.

Tezuka nodded minutely. “Water will be fine,” he said punctiliously. 

“Okay. I’ll be right back.” Fuji fled into the kitchen, standing in the middle of the tiny space with his hand on his chest. Was his heart trying to burst out of his chest? It was certainly beating fast enough, pounding away in there. He took several deep breaths to try to relax, closing his eyes as he concentrated and getting his muscles to untense. Then he went to fetch down a glass from cupboard to pour some drinking water into, noticing distantly that his hands were shaking. What was Tezuka doing here? He was being eaten up with curiosity, those parts of him that weren’t trembling with nervousness, that was. 

He took the glass of water and a soda for himself into the living room. He handed the glass to his captain, who nodded and thanked him again. Fuji sat down in his comfortable armchair, opening his soda and trying to look casual. “I must admit that you’ve taken me by surprise, Buchou,” he said aloud. “You’ve never come to my home before. What brings you here now?” He asked. 

Tezuka hesitated, sipping slowly at the glass of water. “There’s something I’d like to discuss with you,” he began seriously.

“What?” Fuji’s eyes were azure slits as he stared intently at Tezuka’s handsome face. Having the man sitting on his couch gave him some bad ideas. He wanted to get up and rush over there, to throw himself into the man’s lap and kiss him. Instead, he leaned back in his chair and sipped his own drink coolly, as though he didn’t have a care in the world. As if.

Tezuka fell silent once again. Then he sighed as he seemed to come to some resolution. “Detective Fuji,” he began again, “I find myself in something of a quandary. Ever since you were assigned to my squad I’ve…been attracted to you,” he said bluntly at last.

Fuji’s jaw dropped again. His soda fell from his hand, and began to spread a sticky puddle on the wooden floor, but he didn’t notice or care. He was too busy goggling at Tezuka, not believing the words that had just come out of the other man’s mouth. “What?” he yelped, his brain refusing to take in what he’d just heard.

Tezuka wanted to laugh at the telepath’s pole-axed expression. Instead he continued gravely: "That’s right. I know I haven’t been very forthcoming about this attraction, but you ARE one of my detectives. I am your superior, and I’m not really supposed to date one of my men. But I can’t seem to help myself,” he added with a small shrug. 

Fuji couldn’t seem to collect himself. He was in shock. “B-But you’re straight,” he said faintly.

Tezuka’s brows lifted. “What?” he said in puzzlement. 

Fuji gathered himself enough to be indignant. “You’re straight! I saw your girlfriend the first day that I came to work on the squad…”

“Aaa,” there was wealth of understanding in Tezuka’s words. “A tall, beautiful woman in a red dress, yes?”

Fuji nodded dumbly. A faint look of amusement twinkled in the hazel eyes behind the gold-rimmed glasses. “That lovely lady is a friend, yes,” he agreed. “A very good friend. But NOT my girlfriend. Not since high school. I am currently in between lovers. And…” the gleam in his eyes intensified. “I am not straight, Detective Fuji. I happen to be a bi-sexual, actually.”

The telepath gasped. These words were not what he’d expected Tezuka to say. This simply could not be happening. He couldn’t be getting what he’d yearned after for so long. The Gods just didn’t like Fuji Syusuke well enough to give him that kind of break. “So what I came here to ask you,” Tezuka continued calmly, enjoying the way that he’d disconcerted the smaller man, “Is this: Would you consider going out on a date with me, Detective? Even if you say yes, this won’t affect our working relationship.” He said warningly. “We’ll simply date on our off-hours. At work I would still be your captain.”

Fuji blinked. His mouth opened and closed. Desperately he struggled to get his mind to work coherently so that he could answer the question that Tezuka had just posed to him. So many emotions were churning inside of him that he felt like he was going to explode, and he wanted to scream in amazed joy. He was startled by how cool his voice was when he replied: “Hai. I would very much like to go out with you, Buchou.”

Tezuka nodded, looking satisfied. “That’s great,” he replied. “I thought perhaps tonight or tomorrow? Since these are our days off,” he added.

Fuji nodded dumbly. He didn’t care when they went out. Or where they went. Or what they did. None of that mattered. All that did matter was the fact that he was going to get to be with Tezuka at last. He watched in a rather glazed-eyed fashion as the other man rose to his feet. The captain was smiling in a rather strange way, walking over to the deep chair and holding out his hand. Fuji set his own in the hard, strong, lean-fingered appendage, the tremble in his body even stronger now. Tezuka pulled him to his feet. He looked up into those hazel eyes, feeling lost, as the smile on that sensual mouth widened a bit. Suddenly, the shell-shocked Fuji knew that he was about to be kissed. His whole body flushed and tightened as Tezuka bent his head. The telepath opened his mouth in anticipation, as the man that he’d wanted for so very long closed his mouth over Fuji’s in a kiss that literally rocked the smaller esper’s world.


End file.
